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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26636137">Pull Back The Veil Of Mystery</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lemmerman/pseuds/Lemmerman'>Lemmerman</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Z-O-M-B-I-E-S (Disney Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Multi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 08:14:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>29,825</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26636137</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lemmerman/pseuds/Lemmerman</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>You've just about gotten to grips with zombies roaming the halls of Seabrook High when a pack of werewolves moves in and upends everything once again. It's already hard enough to work out where you fit in without supernatural creatures confusing things even further!</p><p>There's something about the werewolves that intrigues you though, and it's that curiosity that brings you into contact with Wyatt Lykensen, a cute, mysterious werewolf whose flirtatious smile and air of mystery captures your heart.</p><p>Getting to know Wyatt won't be easy though, not with his sister Willa watching his every move. As you fumble with your newfound feelings, you find yourself trapped by pack politics, and the only way to solve your problems is to try and convince Willa that you're not an enemy.</p><p>That's easier said than done, of course. But if you want to spend time with your new werewolf friend, then it's exactly what you're going to do. And maybe, along the way, you might just find where you belong as well.</p><p>[Set after the events of Zombies 2]</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Reader/Wyatt Lykensen, Wyatt Lykensen/Reader, Zed Necrodopoulus/Addison Wells</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>45</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. I Don't Feel Like I Belong</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Seabrook High used to be simple. It was basically a circle, which was easy enough to understand. You were either onboard with Bucky Buchanan and the Cheer Squad, or you were outside the circle. And you were most definitely outside the circle.</p><p>Then the zombies arrived, bringing with them a circle of their own. A strange, slightly terrifying, and potentially dangerous circle, but a circle nonetheless. And of course, you weren’t part of that one, either.</p><p>Then, thanks to a trailblazing human named Addison and her zombie boyfriend, Zed, the zombie circle started to intersect with the Cheer Squad, and the fear surrounding the zombies started to dissipate.</p><p>Slowly, the two circles began to overlap more and more; the cheer circle was redefined to mean humans in general, and the two groups almost entirely integrated (aside from a very stubborn Bucky and his clique). The landscape at Seabrook High changed, and there was no denying that it changed for the better.</p><p>And yet, you still remained on the outside of both circles. Alright, you were human, so maybe not <i>entirely</i> on the outside, but you were sat as close to the edge of the human circle as possible.</p><p>No matter what you tried, you just couldn’t seem to find the place that was for <i>you</i>. You knew it wasn’t on the Cheer Squad, that was for certain. All that dancing, and the general close proximity to Bucky and the insufferable Aceys was absolutely not for you.</p><p>In fact, the list of places you <i>didn’t</i> belong was getting longer and longer by the day. You’d tried computer club, the football team, debate team, any number of activities in an effort to try and find where you were supposed to fit, but nothing seemed right. You tried, you really did, but you could never seem to muster up the enthusiasm needed for any kind of extra-curricular activity.</p><p>As if not finding your place wasn’t hard enough, it also made making friends difficult. You had acquaintances across the school, sure, people who had tried to make an effort to get to know you, only to lose interest when they realised that you weren’t worth it. Even they knew, instinctually, that you didn’t belong. People would wave in the halls, or say good morning, but that was the extent of it all.</p><p>So you had no one that you would call a true friend. And definitely no one you could eat lunch with, which left you sitting alone most days, watching the rest of the world pass by; the perpetual outsider, staring through the windows of the world.</p><p>Even with the arrival of the zombies, the huge amount of new opportunities that they presented, didn’t help.</p><p>Not that you wanted to be a zombie, of course. You’d never understand what they went through, no matter how much you could try; the prejudice, the discrimination, and the different lifestyle that they had to live in order to, well, <i>live</i> at all, wasn’t something you could just decide to take on.</p><p>If you were honest with yourself, you kind of admired the zombies. They had faced so much hardship, and the vast majority of them were still friendly and outgoing, willing to make friends and help you and the other humans understand them, bridge the gap between your two groups.</p><p>But, at the end of the day, you were a human, another face in the crowd that no one really seemed to notice, floating through high school, buffeted wherever the tides of life took you. </p><p>You’d almost resigned yourself to that fact, but then the third circle arrived. The most intriguing and peculiar circle of them all. The werewolves, from the Forbidden Forest just outside of town, joined the school and the landscape of Seabrook High changed yet again.</p><p>It wasn’t as seismic a change as the arrival of the zombies, but it was definitely noticeable. Another new group of people to pay attention to, to try and get to know. </p><p>There were far less werewolves than there were zombies, or humans – which made sense given that they lived in a forest; if there were hundreds of them like the zombies, then you were sure that someone would have known about them long before now.</p><p>That did make finding out about them a little difficult, however.</p><p>Of course there were plenty of legends about werewolves. But considering you’d always thought werewolves <i>were</i> the stuff of legends until they literally walked into the building and decided to enrol in school with the rest of you, maybe there was some truth to them?</p><p>But even so, why bother with legends when the real thing was suddenly right in front of you?</p><p>Zombies were one thing – you’d seen and heard about them for years before they finally joined Seabrook High, but werewolves were something else entirely. They were just so...<i>different </i>from the rest of you.</p><p>Sometimes they could pass for human easily enough; if their pointed ears were covered, and their mouths were closed and their hands were in their pockets concealing their fangs and claws, they looked just like every other human in the school, if a little rougher around the edges.</p><p>Then other times, they seemed more animal than human. Sometimes you’d catch one sniffing the air as you walked the halls of the school, trying to catch a scent. Or you’d notice the way their eyes lit up when someone mentioned that it was burger day in the cafeteria.</p><p>They were kinda wild, but they seemed...free, as well. And there was something about that which you found...enticing.</p><p>But they couldn’t be where you belonged, either. If the zombies were a clan, the wolves were a literal pack, and even though Addison, Zed, and the others managed to merge the wolves in with everyone else as best they could, there was still a firm divide between the wolves and the rest of the school.</p><p>That though, that air of mystery, that feeling that they had secrets, hidden depths...that only made you want to know more about them.</p><p>So that’s how you end up trailing some wolves home one night. </p><p>You’d seen them wander through town towards the Forbidden Forest after school more times than you could count, but today is the first time you’ve managed to pluck up the courage to follow them.</p><p>You’re not spying, you tell yourself. You’re just curious. This is a fact-finding mission, nothing more than that.</p><p>You keep as far back as you can manage while still keeping them in sight. You know that their senses are stronger than a normal human, but you’re not sure how far that extends, and you don’t want to give yourself away; if they catch you, they’ll no doubt tell the rest of the pack and you’d never be able to attempt this again.</p><p>But you also don’t want to lose them; keeping an eye on them is easy enough in Seabrook proper where the streets are bright and sparsely populated, but once the buildings begin to give way to trees and you enter the Forbidden Forest proper, you know that it’ll get far more difficult to track them.</p><p>You watch as the group you’re following ducks one at a time through a dilapidated chainlink fence, helpfully labelled ‘Forbidden Forest – Keep Out!’, and across a concrete bridge that looks like it’s being eaten alive by ropey old vines. The wolves swing a left towards the closest copse of trees and you sneak as carefully after them as you can, making sure not to catch your clothes on the fence, or snap any twigs underfoot that might alert them to your presence.</p><p>During the day, the Forbidden Forest isn’t that scary.  The trees are fairly dense, it’s true, but in the sunlight it just looks like any other forest, forbidden or otherwise. </p><p>With night falling rapidly around you however, it looks a lot more foreboding. Every tree you pass is twisted and gnarled, and seems to be reaching out towards you like something from a story book, while rotten roots reach up and threaten to trip you over at every turn.</p><p>The dirt beneath your feet is much looser as well, and you know for a fact that you’re making a lot of noise now; it’d be physically impossible not to, or so you think. All you can hear from the wolves ahead of you is the sound of their voices, rising and falling with laughter and conversation. Their bodies move without a sound, as if they only make noise when they choose to.</p><p>They seem to be very involved in whatever they’re talking about because, despite your fears, none of them stop and listen for pursuers. None of them turn around, or call out in alarm. They just continue onwards, entirely oblivious of your presence.</p><p>Maybe you’re not as bad at this as you thought you’d be.</p><p>Eventually, a large outcropping of rocks bursts out of the darkness just ahead of the wolves. It towers over you all, but a dim orange light and the low thud of music spill out from a natural entrance between two smaller stones at the base. The wolves make a beeline for the light, nudging each other and laughing even more than before.</p><p>You know that feeling – it’s the same joy you feel when you reach the top of your street, and you can see your bright red front door in the distance.</p><p>They’re home.</p><p>Suddenly, you feel like you’re intruding. This is a bad idea, you realise. Fact-finding mission? What were you thinking? You’re literally following possibly dangerous werewolves back to their home in the middle of a terrifying forest. If they find you, who knows what they might do? </p><p>Do werewolves kill people? Do they <i>eat </i>people? </p><p>Do you really want to find out? </p><p>But you’re here now, you think. You’ve come this far. Are you really going to just turn around and go home after this? Wouldn’t that be a waste?</p><p>You’re hovering behind a tree, paralyzed by indecision, as the wolves disappear into the light and out of sight down into the cave.</p><p>Surely just a little peek wouldn’t hurt?</p><p>Even more carefully than before, you sneak across the clearing towards the entrance, counting to ten between each step just to ensure that, if someone does hear you coming, you’ll have plenty of time to turn and run (whatever good that will do you).</p><p>But you make it to the entrance unimpeded. The light from within slowly creeps up your body as you approach, warm and deceptively inviting.</p><p>You make your way to the side of the entrance, head poking out like a child behind their mother’s legs, and peer into the wolves’ den, but all you can see is a set of stairs leading down into the light.</p><p>This is it. You stand on the threshold. Dare you take another step? Are you brave enough, or foolish enough, or perhaps a little bit of both?</p><p>You don’t get the chance to find out. “Can we help you?” says a vicious voice, and you instantly spin around, backing into the rocks and gasping.</p><p>“I don’t-I mean-I know I’m not supposed to be-Oh god, please don’t eat me!” The words fall from your lips like a waterfall, and you throw your hands in front of your face, screw your eyes up and wait for the end to come.</p><p>The bass of the music system inside the cave continues to echo, and your entire body is vibrating along with the rock while you remain pressed up against it.</p><p>It takes you a moment to realise that, contrary to what you thought, you’re not about to die. Your captor doesn’t attack. In fact, once you concentrate past the musical thrum, you can hear...is that laughter?</p><p>You open one eye as cautiously as you can, and find yourself face to face with a werewolf, of course.</p><p>He’s maybe a head taller than you, but probably about the same age. He’s dressed in what appears to be a well-worn outfit; dark jeans and once-hardy combat boots, a navy hoodie, and a vest lined with what looks like wolf fur across the shoulders.</p><p>Deep purple markings run up and down his bare arms, indecipherable at this distance aside from the twin claw mark that mars the otherwise perfect skin of his cheek.</p><p>Thick eyebrows dash across his forehead like hasty paintbrush strokes, and his effortlessly messy hair, which barely conceals the tips of his pointed ears, is a deep brown, except for the blonde tuft at the front that glimmers in the moonlight.</p><p>That’s not all that glimmers, though. His mouth is curved into an amused smile, and his fangs are clearly visible, pearlescent and wickedly sharp.</p><p>You’re not sure if he’s hot, cute, terrifying, or some combination of all of the above.</p><p>“You really think I’d eat you?” he asks as your eyes come to focus on his face. “Is that what they say about us at school?”</p><p>“I don’t...think so? I hope not?” you hazard, some of the tension in your shoulders releasing itself as you begin to relax. “It was just the first thing that came to mind.” You sigh, shaking your head at your own stupidity. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? I know I’m not supposed to be out here.”</p><p>“So why are you?” the wolf asks, one eyebrow raised quizzically. He doesn’t seem angry any longer, if he even was at all. He seems more...curious, just like you were. Just like you are, actually.</p><p>“I was just...look, I’ve been at school with you guys for weeks now, and I feel like I still don’t know anything about you. I know following you all home wasn’t the best plan, in hindsight, but I just really wanted to know something, anything, that I didn’t know before.”</p><p>The wolf cocks his head at you in a very canine gesture. “And you didn’t think to maybe just...ask one of us?” </p><p>You hope that the darkness of the forest will disguise the burning red embarrassment that is making its way across your cheeks. “You guys are kind of intimidating. I didn’t think anyone would tell me anything if I just asked,” you admit sheepishly.</p><p>The wolf thinks that over for a second. “Eh, you’re probably right. Still, you came all this way. You should get something for your trouble.”</p><p>He steps closer then, and you instinctively flinch, which just makes him chuckle again.</p><p>“Name’s Wyatt,” he whispers once he’s close enough, his breath warm on your face. He smells of the forest, and a little like wet dog. It’s surprisingly...not unpleasant. “Nice to meet you.”</p><p>He snaps his fangs, which makes you flinch again, before waggling his eyebrows and stepping past you towards the staircase into the cave.</p><p>“Hey, wait a second!” you call, spinning on your heel to face him. He stops on the stairs, about halfway down, and regards you again. He doesn’t speak, merely waits for you to continue.</p><p>“...Is that all I get?” you ask lamely. “Your name?”</p><p>“You said you wanted to know something you didn’t know before. Pretty sure you didn’t know that.”</p><p>“Well, yeah,” you reluctantly agree, “but that wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.”</p><p>Wyatt narrows his eyes, like he’s considering you. You do your best not to look away or flinch this time.</p><p>“Okay,” he says after a long minute. “Come back same time tomorrow. I’ll answer your questions.”</p><p>And then he’s gone, down the stairs and out of sight. </p><p>Did that really just happen? Part of you wants to follow after him, to find him again and make him talk to you now. But another, larger part of you thinks that that’s probably pushing your luck.</p><p>So you start back through the Forbidden Forest, hoping that you can find your way back home without getting lost. Your mind is lost in thought about Wyatt, so your feet are mostly acting on auto-pilot, no longer concerned about making too much noise.</p><p>That wasn’t exactly how you’d expected the evening to go. You’d thought you might get a little insight into werewolf life, see what they did for fun or something. Maybe see a werewolf dance, or hear one of them howl.</p><p>Instead, you’d gotten a werewolf boy’s name. A <i>hot </i>werewolf boy’s name, actually. And, to top it all off, the promise of more to come.</p><p>Not what you’d expected at all. But perhaps...better than you’d dared to dream. If Wyatt is to be believed, he’ll answer all your questions tomorrow night. Of course, he could be lying, setting you up for humiliation or some kind of cruel werewolf prank. </p><p>Something tells you that isn’t the case, but you barely know him- his whole charming act could have been fake.</p><p>There’s only one way to get to the bottom of this – come back tomorrow, and find out.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Turn Up, Explain Our History</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The following day feels like the longest in history. Every time you look up at the clock it’s moved only a few minutes, if that. More than once, you could have sworn it moved backwards.</p><p>To say that you’re distracted would be a massive understatement. You can’t seem to focus on anything, your mind entirely occupied with thinking about seeing Wyatt again later tonight. </p><p>You’re not sure what to call it; a date seems presumptuous (and totally impossible, because <i>honestly why would you think that</i>). A meeting seems too formal. A rendezvous sounds underhanded and sneaky. A hang-out sounds like a bad 90s cartoon.</p><p>So you just frame it as ‘seeing Wyatt again’ in your mind, and that’ll have to do until you know exactly what’s in store. Which you won’t, until tonight. Which is still <i>so far away.</i></p><p>Any time you’re in the hallways or the cafeteria, you keep an eye out for him. Usually the werewolves are very obvious; like the zombies, they stick out from the crowd without even trying. But there’s no sign of him. </p><p>At one point you think you see a flash of blonde hair that might be him, but as soon as you follow it around a corner it’s gone, its owner blending into the crowds and disappearing from sight, if they were ever there at all.</p><p>Somehow you manage to make it through the excruciatingly long day without incident. You don’t remember a thing that was said in any of your classes, but that doesn’t matter right now. You have something far more important to concern yourself with.</p><p>You head through town, following the same path that the wolves you tailed the previous day took. There are, oddly, no sign of any of them today. Maybe Wyatt warned them that they were too easy to follow and they’ve changed their route? </p><p>Whatever the reason, the streets are empty of wolves. Humans, zombies, they’re everywhere to start with, but as you get further away from the school even they begin to fade away. By the time you reach the broken chainlink fence that leads towards the Forbidden Forest, there’s no one around at all.</p><p>The sun has set as you make it across the bridge, and the moon is rising to take its place. Its pale light shines down helpfully, your personal spotlight as you walk through the trees. Unlike the night before, the forest feels slightly more inviting; maybe because you were <i>invited</i>, the trees are more accepting. Or maybe it’s all in your head, and they’re just trees. That one seems more likely.</p><p>Eventually, almost vibrating with excitement, you break through the tree cover and come to a stop in the clearing that holds the wolves’ cave. Its exactly the same as it was last time, a pile of dark rocks, but with the moon hung perfectly above it now it looks like a perfect postcard moment.</p><p>The light spilling out of the entrance is dimmer than yesterday, and there’s no music playing tonight. It feels kind of sad, as if the cave is a little less alive than it was before.</p><p>You make your way to the entrance, poised at the top of the staircase as you had been twenty four hours previously. You take a deep breath, sudden nerves battling with your excitement, your worries that this might all be some prank flooding back.</p><p>But you’re here. Wyatt asked you to come. There’s got to be a reason. And so you take a few tentative steps down the staircase. When nothing happens, no bucket of water falls on your head, the stairs don’t transform into a slide or anything like that, you feel emboldened and continue to the bottom.</p><p>The interior of the cave is...absolutely breathtaking.</p><p>It’s enormous, with an unexpectedly high ceiling. You thought it might be claustrophobic down here, but it’s like being in the school gym.  </p><p>There are a few other areas further back, with columns of blue rock obscuring your view; these must be where the wolves actually live and sleep, but the main communal area has your attention for now. </p><p>Everything is blue-tinted, the floors, the walls, like the room is caught at moonrise, a permanent twilight. Most of the floor is empty, but an intricate sculpture of concentric rings is suspended from the roof, slowly spinning of its own accord. It’s beautifully carved, and you long to get a closer look. Above it, the ceiling is wide open and the stars shine down creating beautiful shadows on the floor. Around the room at regular intervals, fires seem to have been lit below the floor and shadows dance across the walls as well.</p><p>“You actually came. Gotta say, I had my doubts,” says a familiar voice, and you look over to see Wyatt waiting for you at the top of a small flight of stairs that leads to a platform overlooking the rest of the room.</p><p>He’s dressed in a similar outfit to yesterday, a dark orange t-shirt instead of the blue. He’s smiling, fangs glinting even in the dim light. You start to cross the room as he descends the stairs, and you meet him at the bottom.</p><p>“You invited me. It’d be rude for me to stand you u- I mean, to turn down the invitation.”</p><p>Wyatt’s eyebrows shoot up (which is an impressive sight) but only for a moment as he realises what you’ve said, then his expression smooths out so quickly that you’re not sure if you imagined it in the first place.</p><p>“Well, welcome to the Den,” he says, spreading his arms wide and spinning on his heels to indicate the entire space. “Home sweet home.”</p><p>“It’s...not what I thought it’d be,” you admit.</p><p>“You thought we’d live in some hovel or something? Don’t believe everything you read,” Wyatt replies with a smirk. “Just because we’re wolves, doesn’t mean we don’t like a little comfort.”</p><p>“Where is everyone? It’s kind of empty. I didn’t see anyone on the way here either.”</p><p>Wyatt looks a little guilty for a moment, then shrugs it off. “I take it you saw the moon on your way in? Kinda hard to miss.”</p><p>It takes you a second to twig what he’s talking about. “Oh! It was full!”</p><p>“Got it in one. Full moon means we wolves go for a run together under the moonlight. Makes us feel connected to our wolf sides.” One of his hands goes absently to the necklace at his throat, a chunk of blue rock worn smooth by years of touching. It seems to glow from inside, some unknown magic just under the surface.</p><p>Now it’s your turn to feel guilty. “Oh, am I stopping you from going? I can come back another night, or something. You should be with your...pack? Family? I’m not sure what the terminology is here.”</p><p>Wyatt shakes his head. “Either. Means the same thing to us. And I can go running any month. It’s not every day we get a visitor.”</p><p>“As long as I’m not imposing,” you say, still feeling a little at fault for derailing Wyatt’s plans. But he’s right, he <i>did </i>invite you, so…</p><p>“Not at all. Did you want to sit?” He indicates part of the cave wall, which seems to have been carved out into a bench. “It’s a hell of a trek from the school out here. You must be tired.”</p><p>“You guys do it twice a day,” you say, but you accept the seat gratefully. “I can manage.“</p><p>“We’re wolves. We’re used to it.” Wyatt takes a seat next to you, leaning forward with his forearms on his knees. “So, let the interview begin. What did you want to know?”</p><p>Now that you’re on the spot, you’re not even sure where to start. Considering how much you’ve been thinking about this all day, you’d think you’d be more prepared. Maybe if you’d spent a bit less time thinking about Wyatt and a bit more time thinking about what to say to him...</p><p>“I...I’m not sure,” you begin. “I hadn’t really planned this far ahead.”</p><p>Wyatt laughs. It sounds like a dog trying to clear it’s throat; it’s actually adorable. “Good thing this isn’t for the school paper or something. Okay, how about <i>you</i> tell <i>me </i>what you already know, and we’ll go from there.”</p><p>That seems logical, you think. You readjust on the bench; it’s hard stone but it’s been well-crafted, so it’s more comfortable than you’d have thought.</p><p>“Well, I know you guys turned up a few months back. You were looking for the Great Alpha, or something? Who was meant to lead you to the Moonstone, right? Which turned out to be under the Power Plant. And you managed to rescue it out from under the wreckage, on Prawn Night of all things. Some of that I had to get second-hand. I’m not always up on the school gossip.” Mostly because you don’t have anyone to tell it to you, but you’re not about to admit that to Wyatt.</p><p>“You could have asked Addison, and Zed. Those two seem happy to talk to just about anyone,” Wyatt remarks, gazing off into the distance as if he’s remembering something fondly.</p><p>“I don’t always find it easy to talk to the popular kids.”</p><p>“Am I not one of the popular kids? I think I’m offended,” Wyatt says, and you’re about to back-pedal when you see the goofy grin on his face that tells you he’s kidding.</p><p>He nods his head appraisingly. “Yeah, that pretty much covers it.”</p><p>He was right – talking about what you did know jogged your memory about things you didn’t. “Did you not need the Great Alpha in the end? Since you found the Moonstone without them?”</p><p>Wyatt’s face screws up, like he’s thinking about something unpleasant. “I was so sure it was Addison. The mystery about the Great Alpha...let’s just say we don’t have many clues to go on. It could have been anyone. It’d be nice to find them, just for...closure, I guess?”</p><p>“Not one for an unsolved mystery?” you needle, and he chuckles. </p><p>“Something like that.” Then he changes track, looking puzzled again. “Did you not go to Prawn? The way you’re talking, it sounds like you didn’t see what happened. And we had the after-party back here, but you look like you’ve never been in here before.”</p><p>“Oh, I was there at the beginning. But once the earthquakes started, I kind of high-tailed it out of there. I wasn’t really having much fun anyway. Big crowds like that just...” <i>Make me realise how alone I am,</i> you finish in your mind, too afraid to voice that thought aloud.</p><p>“Fair. Not everyone’s a joiner,” Wyatt says, either not catching or not acknowledging your discomfort. “So yeah, we got our Moonstone, recharged our necklaces,” he holds his out to you to illustrate his point, “and that was that. Mission accomplished.”</p><p>“So how come you guys are still at school? If that was the only reason you were there, why hang around?”</p><p>“...I think we kind of enjoy it,” Wyatt says conspiratorially. “Everyone will deny it if you ask them, but it’s nice to have...friends. We spent so long out here thinking humans and zombies were the enemy, but now that we know different...it’s kinda nice, you know?”</p><p>“Friends. Sure, that’s...that makes sense,” you say, feeling even more out of your depth.</p><p>“Seems like you’re not enjoying yourself,” Wyatt observes. “Are you okay? I’d hate to be a bad host.”</p><p>You blink a few times, trying to clear the discomfort from your expression. “Yeah, sure, I’m fine. Tell me more – where did you guys come from? Are you born werewolves, or do you have to be made?”</p><p>But Wyatt isn’t about to let this go. He shifts a little closer on the bench, concern growing. He motions with a hand; his fingers are tipped with ebony claws, as sharp as the fangs that poke out over his lips. “No, go back. Talking about friends, it makes you sad. I can smell it. Do you...not have any friends?”</p><p>Hearing it out loud is like a physical blow, right to the heart. You avert your eyes, unable to look at him while you speak. You weren’t going to talk about this, but now you’re on the spot, and it’s either this or leave, and you don’t want to do that just yet. “I...I guess not. I don’t really...know where I fit. At school I mean. I’ve been all over, but I...”</p><p>“That must get lonely,” Wyatt says as you trail off. “I’m sorry.”</p><p>“It’s not your fault. It’s fine, I mean, I don’t mind. I’m okay, on my own.” </p><p>The air between you falls silent as the lie solidifies like dense fog. Maybe it’s easier to talk to a total stranger, or maybe it’s Wyatt specifically, but you feel yourself fight back against it, against the falsehood that you’ve told yourself so many times that you’ve almost come to believe it.</p><p>“No, that’s not right. I’m not okay on my own. I am lonely. And<i> I hate it</i>.” You feel the conviction in your voice, stronger than you’d even though possible. “I hate going to that school, surrounded by all those people who seem to know exactly who they are and where they belong. I feel like everyone’s got it all figured out, and eventually they’re all going to just leave me behind. Then I really will be alone.”</p><p>“I really am sorry,” Wyatt says, although you can tell by the tone of his voice that he knows how useless that is. “If I’d known before, I’d have done something. Wolves are all about the pack, about being together. Maybe we could have helped.”</p><p>“You’re helping now. Just having someone to talk to, it’s nice. It won’t change anything, of course, but it’s nice for now.”</p><p>Surprising both of you, Wyatt reaches out a hand and covers yours with his. His palms are soft and warm; he feels like he’s lit from within, always running hot. He’s careful with his claws as he folds his fingers over yours, making sure that they don’t cut into you.</p><p>“If you need a friend, you’ve got one. I’ll be here for you.”</p><p>You look up then, catching Wyatt’s downcast eyes; his eyebrows are almost knitted together in sincerity. You feel a small smile start to play at your lips, and the ball of tears that had lodged in your throat at some point during the conversation begins to soften.</p><p>“Why did you really invite me here?” you ask suddenly. “If wolves are so tight-knit, why invite the random trespassing human back to your secret lair?”</p><p>Wyatt looks away then, taking his hand from yours. The chill it leaves behind in its absence makes you feel sad all over again. </p><p>“You surprised me,” he says by way of explanation. “We’ve not had a human in here since Prawn. That big show of unity, and then as soon as it was all over everyone kind of drifted away. School’s one thing, but once that bell rings, no one seems that interested in spending time with us. So when you turned up on our doorstep, I thought it might be nice to see what kind of human would do that. It was...sorta brave.”</p><p>“I’m sorry to disappoint you,” you laugh sadly. “I’m not brave. I’m just nosy, and one big mess.”</p><p>“You’re not a mess. Or disappointing. You’re exactly what I’d hoped you’d be; human.”</p><p>That takes you aback; that definitely hadn’t been on the long list of things you’d expected Wyatt to say. You open your mouth, considering a reply, when a loud voice echoes through the chamber.</p><p>“Wyatt! What the hell? Is that a human?”</p><p>You look up towards the entrance to the Den and see a large number of werewolves congregating there. At their head is a tall, willowy black girl, her dark hair falling over her shoulders in waves. A stripe of bright white, like the front of Wyatt’s, stands out in stark contrast to the rest of it.</p><p>She’s dressed to kill in tight black jeans and sturdy boots, with an intricate gold belt across her waist. She has a wolf-fur lined vest over a purple t-shirt, so dark that it’s almost black.</p><p>There are purple markings up and down her arms, a different pattern to Wyatt’s, and matching eyeshadow around her already dark eyes. There are also three claw marks on her cheek. </p><p>She’s a brilliant mixture of imposing and beautiful.</p><p>She’s also <i>extremely pissed.</i></p><p>“Willa!” Wyatt stands in front of you automatically, as if he can block you from view. “I thought you guys would be gone for hours!”</p><p>“Wynter twisted her ankle, we thought we’d call it an early night, come back and party with you. But instead we find you in here with a <i>human?</i> You better have a good explanation for this.”</p><p>She begins to stalk towards you both. Behind her, the other wolves are either confused, angry, or both. You get to your feet, not sure if you should be getting ready for an argument, to run, or to fight.</p><p>Wyatt turns and grabs you by the shoulders, looking you dead in the eye so you can’t misunderstand him. “There’s another way out; take the passage under the staircase, it’ll bring you out behind the Den. I’m sorry, I’ll speak to you at school. Go!”</p><p>“But, Wyatt-”</p><p>“Go!”</p><p>He turns you a full one hundred and eighty degrees before he pushes you, his grip powerful and his strength supernatural. You skitter away from him before you’re able to stop yourself.</p><p>With a glance over your shoulder you see Willa closing in on Wyatt. You want to stop, to go back to him, to defend yourself, but the insistence in his expression is enough to propel you forward.</p><p>You dash towards the staircase Wyatt descended previously and into the tunnel that he mentioned; it’s caked in old vines and twigs, which scratch at you as you force your way through it. They’re tightly knit, as if no one has used this exit in years, but you manage to dislodge just enough to enable yourself to squeeze through. </p><p>After a few metres, the vines give way to a long, dark corridor. You flee through it and up the staircase you find at the end, bursting back out into the night behind the Den as Wyatt said you would.</p><p>Then you start running, as fast as you can, back towards home. Every step you take, you expect Willa or one of the other wolves to land on your shoulders, to drive you to the ground and take you out. But even as your heart climbs higher and higher in your throat with each step, nothing happens. You’ve nearly passed out from exhaustion and anticipation by the time you skid to a stop in front of your house.</p><p>You lay with your head under the covers that night, still terrified that one of the wolves will track you down. You hope that Wyatt didn’t get into too much trouble; how do wolves punish their own? Will they hurt him, like you think they were going to hurt you?</p><p>You hope not. You don’t want him to get in trouble because of you. You and your stupid fact-finding mission, which somehow turned into an emotional unburdening on a poor guy you barely know.</p><p>But despite the terrifying ending, the night had been worth it. You’d made a friend. A werewolf friend. A hot werewolf friend, who thought you were brave. That thought is comforting enough to help put your fears to rest, at least long enough for you to finally fall asleep.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. You'll Need To Earn My Trust</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next morning dawns slowly, and it takes you a moment to remember everything that happened the night before. </p>
<p>The flood of emotions is nearly enough to convince you to stay in bed all day – excitement, nervousness, intrigue, sorrow, fear, relief; the run from the Den back to your house was physically draining, but the emotional toll was far higher.</p>
<p>You think about calling in sick, taking the day off school. But that won’t solve the problem – the werewolves will still be there when you go back. Better to face them head on now, rather than wait and let your unresolved issues fester like a rotting wound. </p>
<p>Besides, there’s no way Willa or the other wolves would do something in the middle of school, right? After school’s another story, but if you can manage to smooth this out before school ends then that won’t be a problem.</p>
<p>The day passes uneventfully. None of the few wolves you pass in the hallway so much as look at you. There’s no sign of Wyatt, but that’s not overly surprising since he seems elusive at the best of times. You begin to wonder if maybe he (and you) have blown this out of proportion, and there’s nothing to worry about at all.</p>
<p>And then suddenly it’s lunch time. You grab a tray and find an empty spot in the cafeteria – alone, as usual. But that’s fine today. Alone means you’re not getting yelled at by wolves, so you’ll take alone without complaint.</p>
<p>You eat your lunch, head down, trying not to glance up to see if any of the wolves are looking at you. You’re not sure what you’d do if they were. But if they want you, they’ll soon make themselves known. All you have to do is wait.</p>
<p>The cafeteria is beginning to empty out by the time you’re finished eating. You walk over to replace your tray, emptying your trash into the recycling bin. And that’s when you feel the chill creep down your spine like a slow-moving jolt of electricity.</p>
<p>You stand up straighter, closing your eyes for just a moment to try and compose yourself. Then you turn around, and find yourself face to face with Willa.</p>
<p>She’s flanked by two other nameless werewolves; you’re not sure if they were around last night or not. Neither of them are Wyatt, but both of them are imposing. Their lips are curled back into wicked smiles, fangs exposed, and their eyes glint gold for just a moment.</p>
<p>“We need to talk,” Willa tells you, in a tone that says she will not accept any excuses.<i> “Now.”</i></p>
<p>You try to remove as much of the wobble from your voice as possible. “Sure, okay, yeah. Did you want to sit, or-”</p>
<p>“What were you doing at the Den last night?” Willa snaps. “What were you doing with my brother?”</p>
<p>You hadn’t realised that she and Wyatt are related. There’s not a huge family resemblance; maybe werewolf families don’t work like that. Not that it matters right this second; Willa’s clearly still mad, and you have to defuse this as best you can.</p>
<p>“He invited me,” you begin, reasoning that the truth is the best defence. “I came by the night before, and he found me, and asked me to come back. He just wanted to talk. So did I.”</p>
<p>This does not seem to soothe Willa as much as you’d hoped.</p>
<p>“You just<i> came by?</i>” she asks sarcastically. “Did you just get lost on your way to your human home and end up in the middle of the Forbidden Forest? It’s forbidden for a reason!”</p>
<p>“No, I know that. I was just...curious. I know you guys have been trying to integrate yourselves into the school, I just thought if I knew a little more about you-”</p>
<p>“So you thought the best way to do that would be to break into our home? What kind of moron are you?” She bares her teeth, and you feel yourself take an instinctive step backwards.</p>
<p>You flinch, the quaver in your voice becoming more and more pronounced. “I thought, you know, after Prawn-” </p>
<p>“Prawn was a one-time thing,” Willa hisses, cutting you off. “We don’t just have humans wandering around the Den for fun. Stay away from us. And you can especially stay away from my brother!”</p>
<p>“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-”</p>
<p>“No one cares. Just stay out of my way.” She sneers at you, the derision in her voice obvious. You’re not sure whether to be sad, scared, both, or something else entirely.</p>
<p>“Do we have a problem over here?” asks a new voice. </p>
<p>You look to your left, and see a very tall zombie boy coming towards you all. He has a Seabrook Shrimps letterman jacket on, powder blue, over a maroon t-shirt and patchwork jeans.</p>
<p>His super-spiked hair is, of course, dark green, while his skin is stark white. His expression is open and friendly, although concern creases his forehead.</p>
<p>He has his arm around a much shorter girl, dressed in a Seabrook Shrimps cheer outfit, all neon green and fluorescent pink. Her hair matches his skin, white as freshly fallen snow, framing a pretty face which is barely hiding concern of her own.</p>
<p>Zed Necrodopoulus, star full back of the football team, and his girlfriend, newly instated Cheer Captain (and the only cheerleader in the school that you actually like) Addison Wells join you, filling the gap between you and Willa and acting as a buffer against her rage.</p>
<p> “Zed. Addison.” Willa nods at them. “No, no problem. Just telling this...person,” she looks back at you darkly, somehow managing to make <i>person</i> sound like an insult, “that they shouldn’t go wandering around in places that...might not be safe for them.”</p>
<p>Zed smiles, but you can see the sarcasm at its edges even before he speaks. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that that was a threat.”</p>
<p>“You know we’re all friends now, right?” Addison interjects. “Humans, zombies, werewolves, hand in hand? Pretty sure we had a big song and dance about it.”</p>
<p>Willa gives them both a very false smile, all teeth (and fangs). “Sure, of course. Just a...friendly warning. Right?” She looks back at you, and you can only manage a small nod in the face of the amount of venom that’s dripping off of her smile. </p>
<p>“As long as we’re understood, I think we’re done here anyway.” Without waiting for you, Zed, or Addison to reply Willa storms off, followed by her retinue of werewolves. </p>
<p>Zed and Addison wait with you until they’re gone. The cafeteria is entirely empty at this point, the three of you the only ones left. Once the doors swing shut, you feel yourself release a breath you hadn’t realised you were holding.</p>
<p>“Thank you,” you sigh. “I didn’t mean to annoy her. I think it just all got a bit confused. I tried to get her to understand, but...”</p>
<p>Addison gives you a kind smile; you don’t think she’s capable of any other type. “It’s okay. Willa’s...an acquired taste. You just have to get to know her. She’s really nice, I swear.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, cuddly as a cactus,” Zed quips, and you can’t help but laugh. </p>
<p>“I wasn’t trying to cause trouble,” you try and explain. “I went to their Den last night, I was talking to Wyatt, and I don’t think he cleared it with her first.”</p>
<p>“She is still the Alpha,” Addison concedes. “And she’s his sister. She’s going to be protective of him.”</p>
<p>You feel yourself blushing now; Addison’s got the complete wrong end of the stick. “That’s not what I meant at all!”</p>
<p>“Even if it wasn’t, Willa would probably see it that way. I know how much trouble I had getting her to like me, and I wasn’t even interested in her brother.”</p>
<p>“Wyatt’s a good dude. Nothing wrong with wanting to spend time with him,” Zed adds. He squeezes Addison’s shoulder, and the love that pours of his face as he looks at her is intoxicating. “Hey, if a human and a zombie can make it work, then what’s to say a human and a werewolf can’t too?”</p>
<p>You cannot believe that you’re getting dating advice from Seabrook’s most perfect couple right now. This day is not turning out at all like you thought it would this morning. </p>
<p>“If Willa gives you a hard time, come find us. We’ve got your back,” Addison says, shooting Zed a look that tells him to stop talking right now or there’ll be consequences.</p>
<p>You decide that it’s best to just thank them for their help instead of correcting them about your intentions with Wyatt. “I will. Thank you. I didn’t think you even knew who I was.”</p>
<p>“What? Sure we do. Everyone knows you.” Zed shakes his head as if this information is common knowledge and he’s surprised you don’t know it. You’re not sure what to make of that.</p>
<p>He and Addison depart with a final smile. Zed puts his arm around her again, leaning over and laying his head on her shoulder. It’s a long way down given the massive height difference, but it somehow manages to look adorable rather than awkward.</p>
<p>And now you’re alone again, and more confused than ever.</p>
<p>The bell for fifth period rings, but you can’t bring yourself to go. Sitting through a History class right now feels like the least important thing in your life. It’s been a while since you’ve skipped class; it won’t hurt, just this once.</p>
<p>By the time you come to this decision the cafeteria staff have emerged from the kitchen ready to clean, and they’re eyeing you suspiciously. You give them as genuine a grin as you can manage before rapidly retreating away and out of the door.</p>
<p>The hallways are empty. Best to find somewhere to hide for now. You rack your brain for a minute; the school gym should be free. There’s no cheer practise this period, so that’s a good forty five minutes of peace and quiet.</p>
<p>You zip through the corridors as quietly as you can, trying not to arouse suspicion from any of the classrooms that you pass, before pushing your way into the gym. The cavernous room is empty, as you’d thought, and you find a spot in the middle of the bleachers to deposit yourself and try to make sense of...well, anything.</p>
<p>Why did everyone seem to think that you were trying to date Wyatt? Sure, he was hot, but that wasn’t why you were at the Den last night. </p>
<p>Was it?</p>
<p>The first time you’d gone to the Den had been fuelled by curiosity about the wolves. Then Wyatt had invited you back, and you’d been excited to get some answers.</p>
<p>Had your reasons for going to the Den become more than you thought, without you even noticing? </p>
<p>You have no idea. Your feelings are all tangled up right now, like sweaters fresh from the dryer that all need to be pulled apart and properly folded before you can start to work out who they belong to.</p>
<p>You’ve only been sitting here for about five minutes before the door to the gym creaks open. You’re instantly on alert, expecting it to be a teacher here to scold you. You grab your backpack, ready to flee but to your surprise, it’s actually the last person you’d ever have expected.</p>
<p>It’s Wyatt.</p>
<p>You sit back down, not sure what to say. He crosses the room to the bottom of the bleachers, soundlessly and without a word, until he’s looking up at you with honest-to-god puppy dog eyes.</p>
<p>“I heard what Willa did,” he says without preamble. “I’m so sorry, she shouldn’t have done that.”</p>
<p>You say nothing, unsure what words to use.</p>
<p>“Can I come up?”</p>
<p>You continue to say nothing, but move sideways a little, as if you need to make space on the completely empty bleachers. Wyatt takes that as an invitation, and makes his way up to you. </p>
<p>“I really am sorry,” he says again as he sits down. “For last night. For lunch. If I’d known she was going to do that, I’d have tried to head her off, or warn you or something.”</p>
<p>“She hates me,” you say plainly. “I don’t even know what I’ve done.”</p>
<p>Wyatt sighs. “Willa’s just like that. Some of us wolves like being part of something bigger, but Willa’s a little more cautious. I think she feels like she has to be, being the Alpha and all. She’s just looking out for us. For me.”</p>
<p>“We were just <i>talking.</i>”</p>
<p>“I know that. And she does too, I think. But it’s easier for her to get angry than deal with the fact that I might want to spend time with someone who’s not a wolf.”</p>
<p>“I feel so special,” you say sardonically, but one look at Wyatt tells you that he’s not joking.</p>
<p>“I don’t know what it is,” he says, and his eyes are so intensely focused on you that you can’t move. “But there’s something about you. Something that makes me want to be beside you. You are special. Even if you don’t think you are,” he finishes, causing the denial you were already preparing to die in your throat.</p>
<p>You’re not sure what to say to that, at all. It’s another sweater in the dryer, arms wrapped around the ball of sweaters already in there, making them even harder to unravel. </p>
<p>“...How am I supposed to change her mind? I tried talking to her, but I don’t think that’s what she needs. I want to keep spending time with you too. I still have so many questions. But if it’s going to get you in trouble with your sister, then I can’t come between you like that.”</p>
<p>“Willa’s a very firm believer in actions over words,” Wyatt says. “She hated Addison too, even after she kind of joined the pack. It wasn’t until Addison brought the humans and the zombies together to save the Power Plant that Willa started to come around.”</p>
<p>“So what you’re saying is that all I need to do is something big and unbelievable that’s never been done in Seabrook before in order for your sister to like me,” you repeat back to him. “Great. I’m screwed.”</p>
<p>Wyatt smiles, but it’s tinged with sadness. His pointed ears even seem to droop. “It doesn’t have to be something like that. That was...an exceptional case. But she doesn’t trust easily. Just show her she can trust you.”</p>
<p>“Do you trust me?”</p>
<p>“I wouldn’t be sitting here trying to help you win over my sister if I didn’t think you were worth fighting for,” he replies, utterly sincere.</p>
<p>“Since the first time I saw you at the Den, standing there trying to pluck up the courage to come see us all, I knew you were different. And the more time I spend with you, the more I want to, like some vicious cycle.”</p>
<p>He reaches out, and for the second time in twenty four hours you feel his hand close over yours. This time, you mirror him, your fingers clenching around his. You feel the claws at the tips of his fingers brush your skin; they’re razor sharp, but he’s extremely gentle.</p>
<p>When you look up at him, you can see yourself reflected back in the mirror of his eyes. His irises glow gold for a second, and the smile that spreads across his face is full of unrestrained joy.</p>
<p>And then the moment is over. He pulls away and gets to his feet. “I better get back, before Willa realises I’m gone. I’ll see you again, when I can get away next. I’m glad you’re alright, though.”</p>
<p>“Sure,” you reply, not trusting yourself to say anything more than that. </p>
<p>Your situation hasn’t improved. You still can’t spend time with Wyatt without offending Willa and the rest of the pack. But your sweater ball of feelings has come undone, like a thread has been pulled so it’s spiralling out of control, throwing all the thoughts and emotions to the wind as the epiphany that struck when you looked into Wyatt’s eyes lodges itself deep in your brain.</p>
<p>It was very clear from the look in his eye, the smile on his face, the thrum of his pulse in his fingers as he took your hand, that he likes you. </p>
<p>And, you realise, you like him too. A lot. He’s sweet, and kind, and funny, and so many things you’d never expected a werewolf to be. And most of all, <i>he likes you.</i> That’s the strangest thing; not that he’s supernatural, that he’s part wolf, that he lives in the middle of a forest and howls at the moon – it’s that he’s a boy that actually likes you.</p>
<p>You may not know what you’re going to do about Willa. But you do know that you have to do something, because there is no way you can go another day without seeing Wyatt again.</p>
<p>While you’ve been thinking, he’s descended the stairs in record time. At the bottom, he stops and shoots you another smile before he leaves, and you seize your chance.</p>
<p>“Wyatt! Wait!”</p>
<p>He stops again, confused, and glances back up at you. “What is it?”</p>
<p>You’re lucky that there’s no one else here; neither of you have to shout to be heard, your voices reverberating louder and louder in the empty space of the gym. “Can you meet me tonight? On the bridge, just outside the forest?”</p>
<p>He looks conflicted, unsurprisingly. “But...what about Willa?”</p>
<p>“It won’t be for long. I just want to do something with you, as a thank you for last night. If it’s too dangerous, I understand, but-”</p>
<p>“No, I’ll see you there,” Wyatt says instantly, all thought of his sister banished as soon as you threatened to rescind your invitation. “Two hours after moonrise.”</p>
<p>You consider that for a moment. “So...like eight?”</p>
<p>“That’s what I said,” he replies with a wink. “It’s a date.”</p>
<p>And then he grins once more before disappearing out of the gym, leaving you alone with your thoughts and the slowly dying echo of his last words.</p>
<p>
  <i>“It’s a date. It’s a date. It’s a date. It’s a date.”</i>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Let's Dance Until Dawn</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Regret is the wrong word for what you’re feeling right now, but it’s the only one that currently springs to mind. What were you <i>thinking?</i> You’ve literally spent the last day terrified of what Wyatt’s sister and the wolves are going to do because you met with him, and now here you are, having invited him to meet you in the middle of the night? </p>
<p>
  <i>What is wrong with you?</i>
</p>
<p>But...you don’t feel bad for doing it. The idea of not seeing Wyatt again until school tomorrow doesn’t bear thinking about. There’s just no way you can go that long. </p>
<p>And, after all, you owe him this. He gave up his night to spend time with you, it’s only fair you do the same for him. </p>
<p>So if it’s not regret, then what is it? Maybe it’s...trepidation? Anxiety? If Wyatt hadn’t called this a <i>date,</i> then you’d probably be feeling a lot better about it. Instead, your heart’s in your throat, and your feet can’t seem to stay still.</p>
<p>Maybe he was joking? Maybe it was just a throwaway comment, just a silly way of saying goodbye? Whatever it was, it’s had your mind reeling ever since he said it.</p>
<p>It’s a little before eight; you got here early. There was only so long you could sit at home anticipating what was going to happen, so eventually you’d just up and left to give yourself something to do.</p>
<p>Now you’re pacing along the bridge where you’re due to meet Wyatt, the broken fence at one end,  the Forbidden Forest at the other. For a moment you feel suspended between two worlds; the wild, untamed stomping grounds of the werewolves, and the ordered, understandable normalcy of Seabrook. </p>
<p>This bridge is like a liminal space, a place of decisions, of crossings over. </p>
<p>Or maybe now you’re overthinking something <i>else,</i> and you just really need to chill out.</p>
<p>You breathe quickly, clouds of mist spilling from your lips like an icy dragon. It’s chilly out here at this time of night, and your coat isn’t exactly the warmest.</p>
<p>There’s a crunch, and you spin towards the forest mid-pace to see Wyatt very deliberately treading on a small pile of fallen leaves to alert you to his presence.</p>
<p>“I didn’t want to scare you,” he says, shaking his foot to dislodge the crushed greenery. “You know how hard it is to make noise when you’re literally designed not to?”</p>
<p> “That must have made it easy to sneak away.” You walk towards him carefully, suddenly hyper-aware of all of the noise you’re making as you do so, your heavy human footfalls loud even to your own ears. You probably sound like an elephant to Wyatt’s supernatural hearing.</p>
<p>He smirks in reply. “You’d think so, but Willa has ears like a...well, like a wolf. I’m not sure how much time we have before she realises I’m gone.”</p>
<p>Knowing that there’s a time limit on this encounter makes you sad, a pit opening in your stomach. For all your anxiety about seeing him again, the fact that you’ll losing him so soon after feels even worse.</p>
<p>You’ll just have to make the best out of the time you do have, you think, and try to push the darker thoughts into the back of your mind.</p>
<p>“So,” Wyatt says, shoving his hands in his pockets. He’s still in the clothes he wore to school, no jacket or anything. Wolves really must run hot. “Did you have a plan for tonight, or did you just want to stand on this bridge together?”</p>
<p>“Oh, no!” You shake yourself from your thoughts, resolving to be as present as possible for the rest of the evening. “I thought...I don’t even know if this is how it works, but...I thought we could go for a run together. Like, under the moon, or something.”</p>
<p>Wyatt raises one eyebrow, very slowly, and says nothing, inviting you to continue.</p>
<p>You try to explain yourself a bit more clearly. “When you asked me to come to the Den, you said that the other wolves were all out for a run under the full moon, and you missed out. I know the moon’s not full any more, but I thought maybe we could go run anyway? So you don’t have to wait till next month.”</p>
<p>He thinks you’re an idiot. He thinks you’re mad. Or you’ve completely misunderstood werewolf culture, and you’ve actually just insulted him, and now he’s going to turn around and go home and leave you here and never want to see you again and-</p>
<p>Wyatt starts to chuckle, shaking his head slowly. “You’re...I don’t think any other human would have thought about it like that. Especially after dealing with Willa. But you did. All this stuff going on, and you’re worried that I didn’t get my monthly exercise?”</p>
<p>Once again, you’re glad it’s dark out here so Wyatt can’t see you blushing. Or maybe he can; you’re not sure how strong werewolf eyesight is. If it’s as good as their hearing and their sense of smell, maybe he can see you like you’re bathed in sunlight.</p>
<p>Your mouth begins rambling just as much as your brain is. “It was just an idea. If it’s silly, we don’t have to do that, I can just go home, you were right, it’s probably not a good idea to annoy Willa any more than I already have-”</p>
<p>“No, no. It’s...just unexpected, that’s all.” His voice is calm and steady, a sharp contrast to yours. “I’m always up for a run. Can you keep up?”</p>
<p>You point down at your feet, currently encased in your gym sneakers. “I’m prepared to try. Don’t expect miracles though, I’m hardly Seabrook’s best athlete.”</p>
<p>Wyatt shrugs off his vest, rolling his shoulders in preparation. You copy him, folding your jacket up carefully and hanging it over one of the posts at the end of the bridge so you can collect it on your way home. You hope that he can’t hear your teeth chattering.</p>
<p>“Ready?” Wyatt asks, a playful grin dancing about his lips like a kid on Christmas morning. </p>
<p>“Ready.”</p>
<p>You prepare yourself to sprint off, and then nearly topple over in shock as Wyatt throws his head back and howls at the top of his lungs, the sound supernaturally loud.</p>
<p>“Do I have to do that?” you ask as you regain your footing, but Wyatt’s already off and running. “Hey, wait!”</p>
<p>You take off after him, doing your best to keep up and not run head first into a tree. </p>
<p>It doesn’t take you long to realise that, despite your best intentions, you’re entirely outclassed. Wyatt pulls ahead easily, and moves across the ground as if he has springs in his heels. Wherever his feet land, they barely disturb the forest floor before they take back off again, making absolutely no noise as always. </p>
<p>The joy that’s emanating from him is obvious, even from this far away. It’s less like he’s running and more like he’s dancing, spinning from rock to tree trunk effortlessly. At one point he grabs a low hanging branch, propelling himself forward like Tarzan before hitting the ground in a combat roll and back off again as if he’s flying.</p>
<p>You do your best to stay with him; he’s always far ahead, but you keep in him view, at least, never losing him entirely. You’re not even sure if he knows you’re there any longer, if you’re really sharing this experience at all, but he’s clearly enjoying himself, which is the main thing. Not for the first time, you feel guilty for depriving him of this a few nights ago.</p>
<p>Eventually, you have to stop. Your heart is hammering in your chest, and every breath feels like hot needles in your lungs. You’ve never run this hard or this far before, even when you ran home from the Den last night, and you lean over double, hands on your knees, trying to stop yourself from throwing up.</p>
<p>There’s a warm presence in the centre of your back, and you feel Wyatt standing next to you, having appeared from nowhere. He’s rubbing small circles over the base of your spine. The blaze of his touch is like a heat pack, and you instantly begin to feel better. Taking as deep a breath as you can manage without hurting yourself, you straighten back up and look at him.</p>
<p>He doesn’t even seem to be winded. There’s no sign of sweat on his brow, and the pulse in his throat is steady. He smiles, flashing his fangs.</p>
<p>“Guess I...couldn’t keep up...after all...”</p>
<p>“I should have slowed down,” he says apologetically. “I’ve never run with a human before. And then I got caught up in the moment; once wolves start running, it’s easy to forget anything else.”</p>
<p>“Don’t join the track team at school then,” you warn. “Or maybe do. Coach could use a win for a change.”</p>
<p>Wyatt shakes his head. “Running for sport takes all the fun out of it. Come on, sit down for a sec. Catch your breath.”</p>
<p>He leads you to a large boulder coated in moss; in the darkness it almost looks like a cupcake decorated in green icing. It’s spongy and soft, and you’re grateful for that.</p>
<p>“This was nice,” Wyatt says, taking up a position next to you. He has one knee drawn up into his chest, the other dangling free.</p>
<p>“I’m glad you enjoyed it. Sorry I slowed you down.”</p>
<p>“It’s cool. I think I really needed this. Running always helps me clear my head. And I’m glad you’re here. There’s something about sharing wolf stuff with humans...it’s like they’re brand new all over again.”</p>
<p>You smile softly at the compliment, glancing over at him out of the corner of your eye. His head is tilted up towards the moon, his profile striking in the light. The angle of his nose, the way his ears taper back...it’s easy to see the wolf inside of him like this.</p>
<p>The claw marks on his cheek stand out, more silver than purple by the light of the moon. You reach out before you can stop yourself, tracing your fingertips along them. You feel Wyatt tense beneath your touch, but he doesn’t pull away. Instead he turns towards you, leaving your hand hovering inches from his face for a moment before he plucks it out of the air and holds it gently.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry,” you breathe, “I shouldn't have-”</p>
<p>“You don’t need to apologise about everything. You’re not doing anything wrong.”</p>
<p>“Can I ask...what they mean?” </p>
<p>Something like pride washes over his expression, but his voice is heavy as he answers. “It’s a mark of leadership. Willa has three. I have two. Wynter has one. It’s so the other wolves know who’s in charge, who they have to look up to.”</p>
<p>“That must be a lot of responsibility.”</p>
<p>“It is,” he nods. “But I don’t mind carrying it. Looking out for my pack should be a privilege, not a burden.”</p>
<p>“That doesn’t mean it can’t be both.”</p>
<p>He makes a non-committal murmuring sound, wrinkling his nose up. “You’re not wrong. It’s why I can’t be too mad at my sister, for the way she reacted about you. About us. She’s only looking out for the pack. She’s still wary of humans, even after everything we’ve been through.”</p>
<p>“But you’re not?” You’re acutely aware that he’s still holding your hand, but you refuse to draw attention to it for fear that he might let go.</p>
<p>“I don’t think that we can stay apart for much longer. Werewolves, zombies...we were all human once, in the past. It’s like trying to deny our history, keeping ourselves separated. There’s power in the past, and important lessons. We’d be fools to ignore that.”</p>
<p>“That was...surprisingly profound.” He grins a little, and then lapses into silence, bathing in the moonlight with his eyes closed.</p>
<p>“Did you mean what you said earlier?” you whisper, scared that bringing this up will shatter the moment, and yet unable to end the night without knowing the answer.</p>
<p>“Which part?” Wyatt asks, without opening his eyes.</p>
<p>“That this is...a date.”</p>
<p>There’s a moment of silence, shorter than you’d thought it’d be but still agonisingly long before he replies just as quietly. “Do you want it to be?”</p>
<p>“Yes,” you say immediately, then start to backtrack. “No. I don’t know. Yes?”</p>
<p>“That’s not an answer,” he says, finally opening his eyes. He blinks, and they flash gold just for a moment. “Did you want this to be a date, or not?”</p>
<p>You take a beat, to try and order your thoughts. “I think I do. But I also don’t want it to be, because it makes things so much more complicated for you. If we’re just friends, it makes it easier for us to cut ties and not see each other. But I don’t want to do that. I don’t think I can, not any more. I feel the same way you do – the more time we spend together, the more I want. But I can’t ask you to do that and go against everything your sister tells you to do.”</p>
<p>“Don’t you think what I do is for me to decide?”</p>
<p>“Of course. But I don’t want to make it more difficult for you than it already is. So if you want to just be friends, then I understand.”</p>
<p>Wyatt squeezes your fingers and leans in close so you can’t misunderstand him. “I don’t want to just be friends.”</p>
<p>Your heart, which had finally settled down after your intense run, finds its way back up into your throat again. Being this close to him is like standing next to an open flame; you should turn away, in case you get burned, but you can’t help but love the warmth that it gives you.</p>
<p>“Wyatt? Wyatt, I know you’re out here, I can smell you. Where are you?” Willa’s voice sings through the trees – you can’t tell if she’s angry or not, but you’re instantly alert and ready to run, silently cursing her for ruining the moment.</p>
<p>“It’s okay,” Wyatt says, placing his free hand, the one that’s not holding yours, on your shoulder. “I should be getting back anyway. I’ll go head her off. But thank you for this. Truly. I’m glad we got to do this.”</p>
<p>He points into the distance, a little to the right of where you’re sitting. “If you head back that way, you should come to the bridge in about ten minutes. There’s nothing out here at this time of night, you’ll be safe getting home.”</p>
<p>“Will I see you tomorrow?” You’re terrified of the answer even before you ask the question, and Wyatt’s sad smile all but confirms the bad news coming your way.</p>
<p>“Probably not. We’ve got to keep this quiet, at least until we can convince Willa that it’s okay. I’ll try and talk to her, but she won’t change her mind overnight.”</p>
<p>“...Alright. I’ll...see you when I see you, then.”</p>
<p>He nods, gives your hand one final squeeze, and then he’s gone as if he was never there at all. His voice echoes from behind you, and you drop off of the boulder and listen as he and Willa reunite.</p>
<p>“What are you doing out here on your own? You know we shouldn’t be alone,” Willa voice is scolding, but it’s tinged with sisterly concern rather than true anger.</p>
<p>“I went for a run. I didn’t get to go with you guys, so I thought I’d get one in, stretch my legs a bit.” Like you, Wyatt uses the truth as the basis for his explanations. It’s harder to get caught in a lie if it’s built on fact.</p>
<p>You can’t see her, but you can imagine Willa’s brow furrowing with suspicion. “You should have asked me to come with you. I don’t like you out here on your own.”</p>
<p>“Did you think the scary humans were going to get me? You know I can take care of myself.” Wyatt is teasing, but Willa’s retort is spiky.</p>
<p>“You shouldn’t underestimate them – humans are dangerous.”</p>
<p>“So are werewolves, but that’s no reason for them to be afraid of us. We can all live together, you know that. We’ve been going to their school for long enough now – we should be doing more to integrate ourselves into Seabrook.”</p>
<p>“Like inviting humans over for a <i>chat?</i>” Willa spits, and you can almost hear Wyatt flinching. “I don’t think so. We got what we needed from Seabrook. The school thing is just because the pack likes it; if they didn’t, I’d have pulled us all out of there weeks ago.”</p>
<p>Their voices trail off as they walk away, heading back in the direction of the Den. Wyatt’s still trying to defend you, but he’s a river trying to erode the cliffside of Willa’s stubbornness; it won’t happen in one night, just like he said.</p>
<p>That doesn’t make it any easier to face. If having to deal with the reality of not seeing him was hard before, now it’s almost impossible to contemplate. It’s like he took a part of you with him when he left, and you won’t be whole until you see him again and reclaim it.</p>
<p>You have to think of a way to convince Willa to let you see him; something big and flashy and insane that will change her mind instantaneously. You have to prove that humans can be trusted, that you’re not a threat, and that you have the wolves’ best interests at heart.</p>
<p>Easier said than done, of course. But nothing worth doing is easy. And if getting to be with Wyatt is the prize waiting for you, then you’re willing to walk through fire if you have to.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Everything We Built Is Coming Down</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Your brain feels like a pinball machine, with bad ideas ricocheting between your ears and your eyeballs spinning like crazy as the score goes up and up and up. But no matter what you think of, you’re no closer to that jackpot solution which will get you into Willa’s good graces and stop her going into a rage every time you spend time with Wyatt.</p>
<p>It’s been a few days since your last conversation with him, and every day since has been agony. There’s so much more you want to know about him, about the wolves, and about how you both feel about each other, but there’s been no opportunity for him to get away from the rest of the pack.</p>
<p>Every time you’ve seen him in the halls, which has been few and far between, he’s been surrounded by other wolves who would no doubt report back to Willa right away if he broke off to speak with you.</p>
<p>The one time you tried to ambush him outside of school before he got back to the Den, Willa had literally been right behind him coming out of the school gates, and you’d had to make yourself <i>extremely</i> scarce <i>extremely </i>quickly.</p>
<p>It’s a horrific feeling, knowing that you’ve sorted out your feelings into something resembling sense but not being able to act on them.</p>
<p>Until you can come up with that perfect idea though, this is how it has to be.</p>
<p>Every idea you do come up with always has a fundamental flaw – you don’t know enough about the wolves to know whether it would impress them. They’re mysterious by nature, which was the whole point behind you trying to get into the Den to start with, and not having a frame of reference for how to get on their good side doesn’t help you at all.</p>
<p>You’re walking sadly through the halls one afternoon after school, resigned to spend another evening alone. A few people are still milling around, late to whatever extra-curricular they’re going to, and they wave absentmindedly as you pass them, but you’re far too depressed to engage in conversation. The sound of music reaches your ears, followed by the shouts of a familiar voice. Addison must be running cheer practise today.</p>
<p>You stop dead in your tracks, astonished at how <i>stupid you are.</i> If you need more information about the wolves, then surely Addison’s your best bet. She’s spent the most time with them, after all.</p>
<p>Following the sound into the school gym, you find cheer practise in full swing, literally. Cheerleaders are swinging through the air off of ropes that have been suspended from the ceiling; you’re not quite sure how they’re going to pull that off at the side of a football game but if anyone can make it work, it’s Addison.</p>
<p>You’ll just wait until she’s finished; you may not have much interest in cheer, but you’re not just about to bustle up and disrupt practise. You wander over to the bleachers where you were sitting with Wyatt what feels like an eternity ago, but was in fact only a few short days.</p>
<p>It seems that you’re not the only person watching practise today – Zed is also here, gazing fondly at his girlfriend as she shouts pointers at the less experienced members of the team.</p>
<p>“You mind if I sit?” you ask him, and the zombie looks up and blinks as if he’s only just realised that you’re there. Which is probably true – after all, he only has eyes for Addison.</p>
<p>“No no, go ahead. More the merrier.”</p>
<p>“Don’t you have football practise today? Seems weird for the cheerleaders to be practising if you’re not,” you observe, making yourself comfortable. It’s kind of funny watching Zed try to fold his abnormally long body onto the bleachers without hanging too far off of them.</p>
<p>He shakes his head, eyes raptly back on Addison already. “Nah, not today. Coach had to call in sick. I’ve been telling him that cauliflower brains flavoured pizza isn’t for humans, but he won’t listen to me.”</p>
<p>“That doesn’t sound very appetising,” you admit. “From a human perspective, I mean.”</p>
<p>Zed murmurs something in response, but he’s clearly lost interest in your conversation now. Addison is running across the room so fast that she’s a blur, demonstrating poses, giving people tips. It’s a far cry from how Bucky used to run practise, and you say as much to Zed.</p>
<p>“That dude’s more of a tyrant than a Cheer Captain,” he agrees. “At least with him being president, we only have to hear his voice over the intercom instead of right in our ears all the time. But he’s Addison’s cousin, so I have to at least pretend to tolerate him.” </p>
<p>Even now, he doesn’t look back at you. Is this what love looks like, you wonder? Having your entire world spin around a different axis to everyone else? Zed is clearly devoted to his girlfriend, and she to him. They’ve overcome their differences and made it work, and they come from two separate worlds as well. Surely they’re an example to follow, if anyone is.</p>
<p>“How do you do it, Zed?” you ask, and the open-ended question manages to draw his attention away from Addison for a moment.</p>
<p>His green eyebrows are raised quizzically. “Do what?”</p>
<p>“You and Addison, together. You guys seem unbreakable, despite everything working against you. You basically made the entire world change around you, because of how much you love each other. I hope I can have something even remotely like that, someday.”</p>
<p>At the sound of your final word Zed smiles to himself, like he has his own private in-joke. “You will. When you find the right person...it just works, you know? You still crushing on Wyatt?”</p>
<p>You grit your teeth, willing your cheeks not to blaze red and betray you. “...That’s kind of why I’m here; I wanted to ask Addison about the wolves. I’m having a little trouble getting them to like me, and I thought she might have some insight into what I’m doing wrong.”</p>
<p>Zed makes a dismissive noise, blowing air through his lips. “Hard to please doesn’t even begin to cover the wolves. I’m pretty sure most of them still don’t like me, and I’m like, the nicest guy in school.”</p>
<p>“Can’t argue with that,” you say, and Zed rolls his eyes comically. “You’re just easy to talk to. It’s no surprise everyone likes you.”</p>
<p>“You say that like everyone in school doesn’t know your name,” Zed says, alluding to something you’re not privy to for the second time in one conversation. You’re about to press him on it when the shrill blast of a whistle cuts through the air, signalling that Addison has called a close to practise. The cheerleaders all begin to disperse, and she makes her way over to where you and Zed are sitting.</p>
<p>She’s panting heavily, and the sweat has made her ice-white hair look a little grey. “Oh hey! This is a surprise!”</p>
<p>She leans up and kisses Zed by way of greeting him. If zombies could blush, you think he’d turn bright pink like some old cartoon.</p>
<p>“Hey. I didn’t mean to crash your practise, but I thought you might be able to help me with something. It’ll only take a sec.”</p>
<p>Addison has grabbed a towel from her bag and is patting down her arms as she replies, “Sure, what’s up?”</p>
<p>“I-”</p>
<p>“-need some dating advice when it comes to werewolves,” Zed interjects for you, and you stare at him, mouth agape.</p>
<p>Addison just giggles. “I’m guessing that, as usual, my idiot of a boyfriend has misunderstood entirely.”</p>
<p>“Hey! I resemble that remark,” Zed shoots back. You’re not sure if he’s playing into the joke, or if he’s maybe a little slower on the uptake than you thought. You decide to ignore him and just carry on.</p>
<p>“So I...think I may have a crush on...someone-”</p>
<p>“-of the werewolf persuasion-” adds Zed. Addison shoots him a glare, but you can see the smile threatening to burst through her lips. You can’t blame her – Zed’s charming, even when he’s trying to be annoying.</p>
<p>“-who may or may not be of the werewolf persuasion,” you admit, “and I’m trying to find a way to get the other wolves to trust me. Willa’s made it very clear that she doesn’t want me spending time with...this person, and I was hoping you might be able to give me some pointers on how to get her to change her mind. You’ve spent the most time with the wolves out of everyone at school, right?”</p>
<p>Addison’s smile turns a little sad as you finish. “If you’re looking for some words of wisdom or something, I think I’m going to disappoint you. They don’t exactly tell their secrets to just anyone – if you’re not a wolf, there’s only so much they’ll share. They thought I was the Great Alpha, and even I didn’t get get to learn anything super-secret.”</p>
<p>Wait. You’ve heard that term before. Your brain rockets back to the night at the Den, Wyatt telling you about his search, how they still hadn’t found the Great Alpha, and how he doesn’t like unsolved mysteries.</p>
<p>
  <i>That’s it!</i>
</p>
<p>“Addison, you’re a genius! Thank you so much!” </p>
<p>You’re already standing up. Addison, taken aback and slightly confused, mutters, “You’re welcome, I guess?” before shooting a look at Zed, whose confusion mirrors her own.</p>
<p>“No time to explain. But thank you, both of you!”</p>
<p>You’re out of the gym and barrelling through town towards the Forbidden Forest before either of them can say another word.</p>
<p>Addison won the wolves’ trust by finding the Moonstone and delivering it back to them. Something that they’d lost for who-knows-how-long, and that they couldn’t live without. </p>
<p>And, if Wyatt is to be believed, the Great Alpha is similar. Super important to werewolf culture, and a mystery that’s never been put to rest. So maybe, if you can help them find the Great Alpha, whoever that is, then Willa, and the other wolves, will be so impressed with you that they’ll let you and Wyatt hang out again.</p>
<p>And the first place to start trying to solve that mystery is with the Moonstone. If it was hidden for a long time, then maybe it has a clue that might reveal something about where or who the Great Alpha is too.</p>
<p>All you have to do is get into the Den and have a quick look around. Easy. Right?</p>
<p>You realise that you may not have thought this through as much as you probably should have as you break into the clearing surrounding the Den. </p>
<p>Much like the first time you were here, deep bass echoes out of the cave, undercut with the sound of singing and talking from the assembled wolves within.</p>
<p>Logic manages to burst through your fog of excitement for just a moment; if the wolves have had the Moonstone for a good few months now, surely they would have found any clues to the Great Alpha that it holds already, right? What makes you think that you, a human, would be able to find something that they can’t?</p>
<p>The truth dawns, accompanied by the loud crowing of the rooster of reality as you realise that your perfect idea is, in fact, a <i>terrible </i>idea.</p>
<p>But, and this is the thought that almost gets you moving again, it’s also <i>the only idea you’ve got.</i></p>
<p>“Wynter, seriously, you have to chill out.”</p>
<p>Someone’s coming. You can’t be caught here, not like this. Willa will have a fit if she finds you – and that’ll kill any chance you have of ever seeing Wyatt again.</p>
<p>Your options are to run head first into the Den, or hide and hope that whoever’s coming doesn’t see you. It’s a no-brainer, really.</p>
<p>Crouching in the shadow of some rocks, barely large enough to call themselves boulders, you peek out as far as you dare to, only to barely suppress a shocked gasp as Wynter passes by, followed by the owner of the voice from before – Wyatt himself.</p>
<p>As he passes he stops stock still, raising his nose to the sky and sniffing. You hold your breath, like that’ll somehow stop him catching your scent, and he brings his nose down slowly, slowly, until he’s looking directly at you. </p>
<p>His face freezes in place, his entire body tense like a rubber band stretched taut. </p>
<p>“Wyatt? You coming?” Wynter, now out of sight, calls back.</p>
<p>“Uh…” Wyatt seems to be fighting with himself, struggling to make a decision. “I’ll just be a sec. Gotta...tie my shoe.”</p>
<p>“Make it tight, we don’t want you falling over on the dancefloor again!”</p>
<p>The sound of Wynter’s voice recedes as she speaks; she’s gone into the Den, leaving you and Wyatt alone together.</p>
<p>You cautiously creep out from behind the rocks, standing before him like the intruder that you are, caught red-handed.</p>
<p>“I know this was a bad idea,” you begin, but Wyatt moves towards you before you can continue until he’s right in front of you. </p>
<p>The longing on his face is almost heartbreaking, and his voice is deep and low when he says, “I’m so glad to see you.”</p>
<p>“You are? But I...I shouldn’t be here. If Willa catches me-”</p>
<p>“I don’t care, I had to see you. I know how ridiculous it sounds; we barely know each other. But not being able to see you, it’s like...like a full moon and I’m not allowed to run, or a scent that I’m not allowed to follow. I can’t explain it.” He reaches out towards you, and you don’t dare move away. His hands clasp over your forearms, like he’s trying to keep you from being torn away from him again.</p>
<p>“I know exactly what you mean” you whisper. “It’s crazy. But being away from you leaves this hitch in my chest, like I can’t breathe properly until I see you again. I have to know you, Wyatt. I just have to.”</p>
<p>“What are you doing here, anyway? Do you have some kind of death wish?” he asks, suddenly coming back to his senses.</p>
<p>You reluctantly explain your awful idea to him, how you’ve spent days trying to work out what to do, how Addison put you on this path, and how this sounded so much more well thought out in your head.</p>
<p>“And then I got here, and realised that I’m a complete idiot and that the Moonstone is going to be guarded by wolves and stuff, so I was going to turn around and leave, or try and sneak in and get caught, or some other crazy idea to go with all the other crazy ideas I’d already gone through with tonight, and then...you showed up.”</p>
<p>You look up, thinking Wyatt will look confused, or disappointed, or some other negative emotion, but instead he looks almost amused, maybe with a hint of...pride? </p>
<p>“You’re the weirdest human I’ve ever met. And that’s saying <i>a lot</i>,” he says with a smirk. “Your big idea to impress my sister was to break into our home and snoop around the one thing that she loves more than yelling at me?”</p>
<p>“Well. When you put it that way...it...sounds a little dumb,” you have to admit, and you cover your face with your hands. “Oh god, I’m such an idiot.”</p>
<p>Wyatt chuckles, and then you feel pressure on your fingers as he begins to pull them away from your eyes one by one, revealing his face one strip at a time.</p>
<p>“You <i>are</i> an idiot,” he agrees. “But you get points for trying.”</p>
<p>He’s so close to you now; you can feel his breath on the hollow of your throat, see the glint of his fangs in the moonlight as he parts his lips into a small smile. Your hands are still in his, now limp at your sides, and his fingers are slowly moving against your skin in tiny circles, surprisingly gentle given that they’re tipped with claws.</p>
<p>“Wyatt...I...-”</p>
<p>Then, because all the perfect situations in your life have to be ruined, a piercing howl cuts through the moment and both you and Wyatt back away from each other rapidly, looking towards the Den entrance.</p>
<p>Wyatt instantly knows who the howl belongs to, because of course he does. And so do you – there’s only one person who could infuse a sound like that with so much hatred.</p>
<p>Willa stands silhouetted in the doorway like a vengeful goddess, fangs bared, claws out. You think she’s going to go for you first, but instead she stomps over to Wyatt, looming over him like a judge deciding his punishment.</p>
<p>“Again with the human?” she spits, and Wyatt flinches like she’s struck him across the face. “I told you before – no more!”</p>
<p>You try to dodge around her, so that she’s paying attention to you instead of him, but her focus won’t be drawn. Instead, she practically bellows in her brother’s face, “You’re putting the entire pack at risk like this, Wyatt! I gave you warning after warning, but you just don’t seem to want to listen!” Then her voice grows colder, and you see Wyatt tensing up again before she speaks again. “You leave me no choice.“</p>
<p>Wyatt’s eyes grow as wide as the moon above you as he realises what Willa’s about to say. You don’t, but you can tell from his reaction that it’s not going to be anything good.</p>
<p>“Willa, please, don’t-” he pleads, but she cuts over him, the authority in her voice plain to hear.</p>
<p>“As Alpha of the Seabrook pack, I forbid you from seeing this human ever again.”</p>
<p>“No! You can’t do that!” you hear yourself shout, and you grab at her shoulder, trying to pull her away from Wyatt, desperate to tell her your side of the story. </p>
<p>Not surprisingly, you’re not strong enough to move a werewolf. She looks down at your hand in disgust and then pushes you square in the chest, sending you flying into the dirt.</p>
<p>“You hear me, human? He’s not going to see you any more. Pack members can’t disobey a direct order from their Alpha, not if they want to stay in the pack. So you can leave him alone now. Stop snooping around here like a little lost lamb – because next time we see you, we’ll do to you what wolves are supposed to do with lost lambs.”</p>
<p>She gnashes her teeth to punctuate her point, and you can feel the rage radiating off of her in such powerful waves that you fully expect the ground to ignite at her feet.</p>
<p>“Get out of here! And never come back!” she shouts, taking another sudden step forward. You’re instantly on your feet, fleeing as far and as fast as your legs can take you before you even realise what you’re doing.</p>
<p>As you reach the trees surrounding the clearing, you risk a look back over your shoulder. Willa looks triumphant, arms crossed, an unapologetic smile on her face. </p>
<p>But, over her shoulder, Wyatt looks absolutely crestfallen, like his sister has just punched through his chest and pulled his heart out the other side. </p>
<p>Or like his heart is running away from him as far and as fast as it can manage.</p>
<p>And it’s true, you’re scared. Petrified, even. And it’s true, Wyatt’s crushed expression is breaking your heart even now. </p>
<p>But this isn’t the end. Not by a long shot. Because you have one last Hail Mary that you can try. There’s one other place that the Moonstone was, for the longest time, and that no one has bothered to go and check. If there are any clues to the Great Alpha, then that’s where they’ll be.</p>
<p>Sure, it’s dangerous. Absolutely insanely dangerous. But you have to try. Because there’s no way that you’d ever make Wyatt choose between you and his pack. You would never ask him to do that, and you would never expect him to pick you if he had to make that choice.</p>
<p>But if you can find what you hope to find beneath the ruins of the Seabrook Power Plant, then maybe he won’t have to.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Our Legacy Is In Our Sights</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>This time, you do call in sick from school. You can’t face a whole day surrounded by people after what happened last night; it’s painful enough without having to see anyone, and the thought of explaining why you’re feeling so down makes your heart ache.</p><p>And if you saw Wyatt, even once, across the cafeteria, or going the opposite way in the hall, the idea of him having to get up and move away or turn around and ignore you is enough to make you want to curl up in bed forever.</p><p>You just tell your parents that you’re not feeling well; you’ve not had much time off sick before, so they don’t question you too closely. And you’re not sure if they’d accept heartbreak as a good enough reason not to go in.</p><p>As soon as they’ve gone out to work, you throw yourself into your planning.</p><p>The idea is so simple, you’re not surprised that you didn’t think of it before. The Moonstone was held in the Seabrook Power Plant for hundreds of years after it was taken from the werewolves, and Zed and the others had to move it so quickly when the Power Plant was falling apart that they would have missed any clues to the Great Alpha that the holding chamber might have held. So you’ll just go down there, have a snoop around, and see what you can find. There’s got to be something useful down there, right? </p><p>From what you’ve heard about the end of Prawn, you know the room itself isn’t in the greatest condition. The doorway is sealed by an enormous slab of stone, but there may be other ways in. It sounded like there was a labyrinth of tunnels under the Power Plant, shaken loose by the earthquake. So that’s your starting point.</p><p>You assemble some hiking gear, mostly ‘borrowed’ from your dad’s camping stash. A flashlight, some rope, some sturdy boots, one of those little pick things that help you get a grip in a tough wall; you shove it all into a backpack, and then shove the backpack under your bed and wait.</p><p>Waiting is the worst part. You know what you have to do, but not being able to do it makes you literally vibrate with anxiety. With a plan in mind, you just want to act on it as soon as you can.</p><p>Maybe then you’ll stop feeling so bad about Wyatt.</p><p>You can’t help but replay the crushed look on his face as you were running away last night over and over in your head, a sadistic gif looping through your mind and jabbing a thorn into your heart every time it starts again.</p><p>Somehow, you make it through the day without combusting. Your parents come home, checking in on you to make sure that you’re feeling okay. You tell them that you’re feeling a little better, that you’ll probably be able to go back to school tomorrow, but that you’re just going to go to bed early today. That way, you know that they won’t check in on you again until they go to bed themselves, by which time you’ll already be gone.</p><p>As soon as the sun sets and the moon’s pale light splashes over Seabrook like spilt milk, you slide out of your window and down to the ground floor soundlessly. </p><p>Seabrook doesn’t have a curfew any longer, but it’s ingrained in people not to spend too much time outside while it’s dark after years of the zombie restrictions, so the streets are mostly empty; just how you need them.</p><p>The ruins of the Power Plant are in Zombietown, so the barrier is your first destination. The change in the buildings as you cross the city is startling; the closer you get, the more everything seems to be falling into disrepair, chipped bricks and tarnished paint everywhere you look.</p><p>But it’s not all bad news; the buildings seem somehow to be more welcoming, to have more character than the utilitarian, uniform buildings that make up the rest of Seabrook. </p><p>In fact, when you cross into Zombietown proper and turn into a street practically bathed in light from exposed lightbulbs and fairy lights strung across the entire street, you’re not sure if you ever want to go back to Seabrook proper again. You can’t believe you’ve never been here before – it’s beautiful.</p><p>As much as you’d like to hang around and admire the sights, you have a mission to complete. You make your way through Zombietown towards the wreckage of the Power Plant, the huge mound of debris that takes up almost an entire city block.</p><p>The idea had originally been to demolish the Power Plant and replace it with a new Cheer Centre for the school, but the fudged demolition had thrown a spanner in the works. The plan was still in place, but the rebuild had been delayed until the summer so it was unlikely to be finished by the next school year. The remains of the destroyed building now sit unmoving in the same spot that they fell, curled up like a sleeping cat.</p><p>Which suits you fine, because it means you can get onto the site without running into security or anything like that – who needs to guard a pile of rubble, after all?</p><p>There’s still a hastily erected metal fence around the site to deter intruders, but it’s easy enough to find a section that isn’t properly secured and sneak underneath it.</p><p>The mountain of trash that is the Seabrook Power Plant stretches out before you, a behemoth in the dark. Iron beams, slabs of concrete, steel wire, and who knows what else all stick out at odd angles; it’s like a weird modern art sculpture rather than a demolition site.</p><p>“Here goes nothing.” Your voice is loud in the dead of night, but there’s no one around to hear you. </p><p>The fact that you’re entirely alone hits you like a block of ice. If something goes wrong here, you’re on your own. So you’ll just have to make sure that nothing does. And nothing can – everything is riding on this, you can’t afford for it to go any way but smoothly.</p><p>You readjust your backpack on your shoulder, and begin your search for an entrance.</p><p>Most of the rubble is either too heavy or too unstable to try and move. You loop almost the entire perimeter of the Power Plant, each possible entry point more dangerous than the last, until you find an archway leading down into the heart of the mess. It’s formed from a support strut and one of the fallen smokestacks, both having toppled towards each other but having collided in the middle, coming to rest in an almost perfect triangle. Between them is darkness, but the ground is uncluttered and the entryway is entirely clear. All it needs is a welcome mat.</p><p>You strap one of your dad’s painting masks over your face, so that you don’t have to breathe brick dust in at least, and head inside.</p><p>The corridor narrows almost as soon as you pass under the smokestack, the ceiling and walls closing in oppressively. The light of the moon doesn’t reach very far inside, and it’s not long before you need to pull out your flashlight, keeping the beam trained on the ground ahead of you so that you don’t lose your footing.</p><p>You’re not sure how long you walk through the darkness; each step seems to take an age since you have to make sure that you’re not going to fall through the floor or trip over something painful before you move. You definitely begin to feel as though you’ve walked the entire length of the building though; there must be a dead end coming up soon.</p><p>The ceiling becomes so low that you need to crouch, and more than once you have to turn sideways to get through the ever-narrowing passageway.</p><p>You’re about to give up hope, turn around and go back the way you came before you get stuck, when your torch beam stops illuminating the grey concrete floor and instead pitches down into a craggy crevasse. </p><p>If you’d not been looking at the ground you’d likely have missed it. Or fallen over it, one of the two. But it’s a very thin crack in the ground, just about wide enough for you to fit yourself through. </p><p>You get down on the ground, concrete dust and ash covering the front of your clothes. You’ll have to think of a way to explain that one to your mom on your way home. Then, holding the flashlight between your teeth, you look down into the crack and see what you can see.</p><p>It’s not a sheer drop, thankfully. Some wall panels have tilted, creating makeshift ledges you can use to descend safely, and then a second passage leads away into more darkness at the bottom.</p><p>You’re not sure of the precise layout of the Power Plant, but if there really was a hidden room beneath it that held the Moonstone, then this looks like the best way to get to it. Which makes this exactly what you’ve been looking for.</p><p>You toss your backpack down ahead of you, waiting to hear the thump as it hits the ground, and then manoeuvre yourself through the crack in the floor as best you can.</p><p>It’s a tight fit, and you feel your jeans snag on the walls, tearing in a few places, but you make your way through and down onto the first ledge without incident.</p><p>You stop to catch your breath; your heart is in your throat. This is the most dangerous thing you’ve ever done, and you’ve literally tried to break into a werewolf den twice in the past few weeks. But you have to do this. The reward far, far outweighs the risk. What’s a little dirt, a little danger, if it means you get to see Wyatt again?</p><p>The next drop is a little further down, so you lever yourself as far as you can go off the ledge, legs dangling freely, before you let go. It’s only a few feet, but you lose your footing from the impact and land flat on your butt. You’re glad there’s no one around to see you.</p><p>“Graceful,” you whisper to yourself, wincing as you get back to your feet. Your backpack sits waiting for you, and you collect it before heading down the new passageway.</p><p>It smells down here even through your mask, musty,  like an old bookstore. The air is thick and cloying, like walking through fog. Worse still, it’s almost entirely pitch black now, your torch beam slicing through the darkness like a blade. </p><p>Luckily, it’s not long before the passageway opens out into a much bigger room, and the feeling of claustrophobia, of being so deep underground that you’re likely to find the Earth’s core before you find what you’re looking for, recedes quickly.</p><p>This new room is roughly circular, with a string of electric lights wrapping all the way around it like Christmas ribbon. They’re glowing a very dull orange, like there’s not enough power in them to really ignite their light. You trace the cable with your flashlight beam and find a small generator hooked up; this room must have had a separate power source to the rest of the building to protect the Moonstone in the event of a power outage.</p><p>You’ve no idea how to fix the generator, if it needs fixing at all. Hesitantly, you kick it with the tip of your boot. There’s a loud clang, much louder than you’d have expected given how gently you kicked it, but then the machine whirs to life and the lights flare around the room, bathing it and you in burnt orange.</p><p>The room is...empty. There are scratch marks along the floor, leading under a slab of rock on the opposite wall; no doubt this is where the Moonstone was dragged out of the room and up into Seabrook High, but that’s about the only feature in the room other than the lights and the generator.</p><p>Disappointment lays itself over you like a heavy cloak, and you drop to your knees under the weight.</p><p>There’s nothing here. No clues to the Great Alpha, no hidden folder with werewolf secrets you can gift to Willa in exchange for seeing Wyatt again. Nothing but dust and ash, and the remnants of your dreams.</p><p>You feel the tears making their way down your cheeks, carving tunnels through the dirt caked there before dripping onto the floor, the first water this room has seen in centuries.</p><p>The hum of the generator isn’t loud enough to cover the sound of your sobs as you start to cry. You let out a wail of anguish and frustration, like a banshee deprived of her kill.</p><p>Is this what you get? You go through life not knowing who you are, rudderless, uncertain, until you finally find someone who might get you – only to have him torn away, no matter how hard you try to hold on?</p><p>It’s just...it’s <i>not fair.</i></p><p>Here, in this room devoid of life, you feel as far away from everything as you can possibly get. Alone. Friendless. You don’t have any other ideas. This was it, your big Hail Mary moment. And it’s all come to naught. </p><p>You lean up against the wall nearest the generator, all motivation to move sapped from you. And what’s the point, anyway? There’s nothing for you back up in the real world. Surely it’s better to just fade away down here, a footnote to history, than return to a life empty of meaning, of belonging, of love.</p><p>A dark cloud settles over your head, raining misery on you in torrents. You place your head between your knees, letting the tears flow freely.</p><p>You’re glad that you didn’t ask anyone to come with you tonight. At least you’ve spared them, and yourself, the embarrassment of being seen like this.</p><p>You’re not sure who you would have asked. Zed might have helped, maybe. No, he definitely would have. Stupid ideas that pay off in the end are his bread and butter, he’d have jumped at the chance to do something like this. You can almost see him now, shrugging this off like some minor setback instead of the end of your life as you know it. His unrelenting optimism would have been brighter than your torchlight. </p><p>Not that Addison would have let him go. Or at least, she wouldn’t have let him go alone. She’s the brains of that operation; she probably would have come up with a whole excavation plan, roped in Bree, and Eliza, and anyone else who didn’t look busy into helping you out. She was the one who was good at uniting people. You envy her that, if you’re honest.</p><p>The idea of Bucky coming down here actually makes you laugh. He wouldn’t want to get his cheer uniform dirty, and the thought that he might actually own clothes that aren’t green and pink doesn’t even cross your mind. But, if Addison and Zed asked, he would have. He’d have complained the whole way, but he would have.</p><p>Maybe if you’d tried to explain this to Willa, she might have helped. If you’d managed to get a word in edgeways, of course, without her roaring in your face or telling you to get lost. But this definitely seems like the kind of boneheaded move that she’d appreciate; that’s what you’d been banking on, after all. Maybe she’s actually really nice if you get to know her. Not that you will now.</p><p>And of course, there was always Wyatt. If you’d found him on his own, maybe you could have asked him to come with you. A werewolf wouldn’t have needed a flashlight to see in the dark, wouldn’t have needed rope to climb when he could jump. And then you could have spent this time together, stealing out one last evening from the rest of the pack, even if it meant getting into even more trouble.</p><p>All those people you could have asked for help. And yet you chose to go it alone. A terrible realisation hits you; maybe the reason you always feel alone is because you’re always isolating yourself.</p><p>Maybe the reason you don’t have anyone, is<i> you.</i></p><p>Then the room begins to shake violently, like an enormous hand is using it as a snowglobe, and you topple over sideways, thoughts scattering across the ground like marbles. The generator goes flying, crashing into another wall and bursting in a shower of sparks. The lights instantly blink out, deprived of their power source, and you’re plunged back into darkness. You hear sections of the ceiling start to plummet, shattering on the ground like glass. You curl in on yourself, not sure of where to run, where to hide, and hope against hope that nothing lands on you.</p><p>Your ears are overwhelmed with noise as everything shifts, and you jam your eyes shut even though you can’t see anything anyway. If this is the end, better not to meet it head on.</p><p>But as suddenly as it started, it’s over. The room settles, the shaking stops, and the only sound is now the trickle of little dust waterfalls, cascading from the new holes in the ceiling.</p><p>Being faced with your own mortality is enough of a wake-up call to get you moving again. As hopeless as things seem right now, you <i>definitely do not want to die.</i> Especially not down here.</p><p>Sure, things are hard. You might not know where you belong. You might not be able to see the boy you like. But is any of that worth dying for? That’s a <i>little </i>dramatic, even for you.</p><p>You carefully get to your feet, making sure nothing is broken or trapped, but miraculously you’re totally fine. You look like you’ve been dipped in dirt from head to toe, but you’re uninjured. </p><p>It’s time to get out of here.</p><p>A quick swing of the flashlight helps you reorient yourself, and you make your way back towards the crack that had brought you into the room to start with.</p><p>You hold your breath as you feel for the exit, silently hoping that it hasn’t been closed up by the shifting of the rubble, but it’s still there, mostly unobstructed. It’s a tighter squeeze than before, but you manage to make your way through and back along the corridor to the bottom of the cliff with the wall panel ledges.</p><p> This too is still intact. It’s leaning a little further to one side now, precariously balanced, but you think it should still hold up under your weight. </p><p>Getting back up proves more difficult than getting down, but that’s where the your rope and the handheld pick come in. You tie the two together and launch them up into the darkness like a grappling hook. The pick lands with a clatter and, when you pull, it catches on some rocky outcrop and holds fast, allowing you to shimmy your way up the wall.</p><p>If only your gym class could see you now.</p><p>You repeat this again, and pull yourself back up into the first tunnel. All that stands between you and freedom is a long walk.</p><p>This time it takes even longer; the makeshift roof above you has collapsed in more than a few places, leaving huge piles of concrete and broken machinery to litter the path, so you have to make your way around it all while still making sure that you don’t fall flat on your face or into any new cracks in the ground.</p><p>The shadows of the column and the smokestack that form the entrance spire out of the dark ahead of you, and the allure of fresh air, of being able to see the sky again, makes you move faster.</p><p>But as you draw closer, you see that a gigantic pile of rocks has avalanched in front of the exit, blocking out the moonlight and completely sealing the entryway.</p><p>Your throat seizes up, strangling your scream in your throat. You start to scrabble at the pile, trying to climb up, to find purchase so that you can get to the top and maybe find a way out further up, but you just slide back to the bottom.</p><p>The slope is too steep, there’s no way you can climb it. The rocks are too large to move, and too tightly packed to squeeze through. Not even the moonlight from outside can make its way to you.</p><p>You’re trapped.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Unique, But You Have Unity</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Your first thought, after landing unceremoniously at the bottom of the rubble pile blocking your exit, is panic. A cold hand grips your entire body, fingers tightening slowly until you feel as if you’ll never be warm again, and breathing is all but a foreign concept.</p>
<p>You’re trapped in here, literally inches away from escape, and now you’re going to die and no one will ever know, and you’ll never be able to tell Wyatt how you really feel, or find out where it is that you belong at school, or-</p>
<p>Panic gets its due. You spend a good few minutes in this downward spiral, gently rocking back and forth in the torchlight as you contemplate all of the horrible things that are going to happen now, and how everyone will cope with your death.</p>
<p>And then you tell panic to shut up, because you’re not dead yet and there has to be a way out of here. </p>
<p>If you were a zombie, you could take off your Z-Band and brute force your way through. If you were a werewolf, you’d be able to bound up the rubble and dig your way out. But you’re just a human, so you’ll have to deal with this problem in a human way, just like you’ve dealt with all the other problems in your life up until now.</p>
<p>You could go back the way you came, potentially try to find a way out back inside the Moonstone room; but that place was sealed up good and proper when the wolves took the Moonstone, so going back there seems like a bad idea. Plus if there’s another shift, you’d be trapped underground and the chances of anyone ever finding you would be much, much smaller.</p>
<p>You reach into your pocket and pull out your cellphone. The clock tells you that it’s late, nearly the middle of the night. Your parents have probably discovered that you’re missing by now. Maybe they’ll organise a search party. Maybe they’ll find you by morning. Your phone is charged, but you have no signal, predictably. The enormous pile of steel and iron behind you is likely the cause of that. So calling for help like that is out of the question, but there’s always the old fashioned way.</p>
<p>“Help!” you shout, the word echoing around the cavern of rubble that you’ve trapped yourself in so that it sounds like you’re not as alone as you feel. “Help! Anyone out there?”</p>
<p>The bulk of Zombietown isn’t too far away from here. Maybe someone will hear you. Maybe.</p>
<p>You think about climbing back up the pile of rubble, but the thought of landing back on your butt for a second time doesn’t sound too appealing. And if you land wrong and break your leg or something, this will all suddenly be so much worse. Shouting is your best option, at least for now. As much as you wish could save yourself, this problem isn’t one you can overcome on your own.</p>
<p>“Help!” you shout again, for good measure. “Hello! Anyone?”</p>
<p>You don’t expect to hear anything. There shouldn’t even be anyone around. Really, you should just save your voice until morning, when someone on their way to school or work is more likely to hear you, but the idea of sitting alone and powerless for hours in the dark fills you with dread.</p>
<p>When a voice shouts back: “Hey! Are you okay?” you almost fall over in shock. And when you realise who the voice belongs to, you nearly do it again.</p>
<p>“Zed? Zed! Is that you?” you shout back in disbelief. </p>
<p>“Hey! Stay there, we’ll get you out!”</p>
<p>We? He’s not here on his own? What is he doing wandering around in the middle of the night?</p>
<p>There’s a shifting in the rubble, and you peer up to the top of the pile as a shaft of light bursts through like the first rays of morning sun, before Zed’s face fills the gap and grins down at you.</p>
<p>“Not the best place for a midnight stroll,” he quips. “Hold tight, one sec.”</p>
<p>And then he’s gone, just as quick as he came, and you’re left alone to wonder just what on earth is going on outside in the real world.</p>
<p>Maybe he was just out for a walk? Do zombies do that? Maybe he and Addison had a date, and they just happened to walk past on their way back to his house? Nothing about this makes any sense.</p>
<p>You’re not left to wonder for long, however. There’s another noise at the top of the pile of rubble, and then a rope uncoils through the gap Zed made, unravelling as it falls down, down, down until it comes to rest at your feet. </p>
<p>“Grab on! We’ll pull you up!” shouts Zed’s voice. As confused as you are, you’d rather be confused outside than trapped in here any longer than you have to be. You make sure you’ve got your backpack securely tightened and your phone put away in your pocket before tying the rope around your waist and giving it a sharp tug.</p>
<p>“Okay, I’m ready!”</p>
<p>If it’s just Zed and Addison outside, you expect this might take a while. As it is though, you shoot up through the darkness so fast that you barely have time to scrape your knees on the rubble. In less than a minute, you’ve reached the peak of the mountain and emerged into the moonlight on the other side.</p>
<p>Fresh air has never tasted so good, and you take a few big gulps as your eyes adjust. The darkness of the Power Plant was all-encompassing, and even the dim light of the moon takes a second to get used to.</p>
<p>Zed’s there to greet you, helping you remove the rope and making sure you don’t slip on the way to the bottom of this side of the rubble mound.</p>
<p>“Oh god, Zed, thank you! I don’t know what I was going to do before you got here. How did you even find me?”</p>
<p>“I think there’s someone better suited to explain that, but that’ll come in a second. Just wave first, so everyone knows you’re okay.”</p>
<p>“Everyone?” you wonder, puzzled. He just shrugs and points at the bottom of the hill, and this time you really do fall over in shock.</p>
<p>Surrounding the Power Plant in a wide semi-circle is what looks like the entire population of Seabrook High. You follow the rope with your eyes, tracking its progress through the groups of people that are all clinging to it, every single face turned up towards you in concern.</p>
<p>The zombies are front and centre, Eliza and Bonzo at the lead, rapidly replacing their Z-Bands as black veins recede back into their skin, no doubt having accessed their zombie strength to help pull you out. You’re surprised to see zombies you’ve never really paid much attention to in the crowd; even Zed’s father and his little sister are here, and you’ve never even spoken to them before.</p>
<p>Addison and the Cheer Squad are next to them, no doubt freezing in their cheer uniforms but here anyway. This group includes Addison’s friend Bree and, you’re amazed to see, a very reluctant looking Bucky and the Aceys. They all appear to be here under duress, given the expressions of exasperation on their faces, but nevertheless they <em>are</em> here.</p>
<p>The football team, the mathletes, the computer club, every single team or sport or activity that you’ve joined and left are here, filling the street below with concerned faces slowly transforming into relieved ones as they all see that you’re okay.</p>
<p>“What...what’s going on? Why are all these people here?” you ask Zed, whispering despite the vast distance between you and the assembled masses.</p>
<p>“For you, of course,” he says nonchalantly. “They heard you were missing, so everyone came out to help find you.”</p>
<p>“But...but...” This makes no sense. These people aren’t your friends...are they? </p>
<p>“Come on, let’s go say hi to everyone. They’ll all be glad to see you in one piece.”</p>
<p>Zed helps you down to street level, and your amazement only grows as everyone surges forward to welcome you back, to say how worried they were, to pat you on the shoulder or scold you for scaring them.</p>
<p>“I don’t understand,” you whisper to Zed. At some point, Addison has taken up position on your opposite side, and the pair of them are basically holding you up like buttresses on an under-construction building.</p>
<p>“You realise everyone in school knows who you are, right? You’ve been to every club, joined every sport-”</p>
<p>“-except Cheer-” interjects Bucky as you pass him, but Addison silences him with a glance.</p>
<p>“-so there’s no way to go to Seabrook High and not know who you are. Even if they only know you in passing, everyone at school knows you’re a good person. A little unfocused, maybe, but good. When Addison and I sent out the group text that you were missing, literally everyone said they’d come help look for you.”</p>
<p>If you hadn’t seen this with your own eyes, you’d never have believed it. You’d thought you were the one at school with no place to be, with no group to call your own. But instead, you’re part of all the groups at the same time, the common factor that has managed to pull all of these people together where nothing else ever has.</p>
<p>You’re crying again, but this time it’s with joy.</p>
<p>You’ve been looking for a place to belong, when you’ve been exactly where you’re supposed to be this entire time.</p>
<p>As you pass by the Model UN, who all pat you on the shoulder and start quoting the Geneva Convention at you in an effort to convince you not to torture them like this ever again, you reach the end of the row.</p>
<p>“Maybe you should say something?” Addison suggests, giving you a nudge. You don’t, not really, but you probably should, so you climb onto a nearby bench and look out at everyone. Tears are stark on your face, but you couldn’t care less right now.</p>
<p>“I really don’t know what to say,” you begin, “except thank you. I...I had no idea I had so many people I could count on, who cared enough to be out here in the dark and in the cold, trying to find me. You don’t know how much this means to me, you really don’t. And I promise, I will never, ever do something like this again.”</p>
<p>There’s a loud cheer, almost as loud as when Zed scored the winning touchdown at the Homecoming game last year, and a round of applause. You take it as best you can, chest hitching as you try and stop yourself from being overcome with even more tears.</p>
<p>And then, their job done, their charge rescued, the crowd begins to disperse.</p>
<p>Addison and Zed hang back, even when the zombies, Cheer Squad, and football team all dissipate back into Zombietown and away towards their homes and their beds. </p>
<p>“Don’t scare us like that,” Addison scolds you, but you can tell that there’s more concern in her voice than anger. “What were you thinking?”</p>
<p>“I was just...I wanted...I’m such an idiot. I’m so sorry, really. I didn’t mean for this to happen, I swear I didn’t.”</p>
<p>Zed cuffs you with the palm of his hand. “You’re just lucky that someone thought to check in on you today after school; otherwise we might not have started looking for you till much later.”</p>
<p>“Thanks, Zed. I didn’t realise you cared that much about me. I didn’t realise anyone did, actually,” you say with a grateful smile up at him, but he shakes his head just a little.</p>
<p>“I do care,” he concedes, “but it wasn’t me. Addison and I will be just over here, in case you need us.”</p>
<p>He and Addison step back as you stare at them, confusion settling in again like morning dew. As she goes, Addison points over your shoulder, and you turn towards the opposite side of the street.</p>
<p>The last of the student body are on their way home and, as the final remnants of the crowd part, there’s one person left standing on the sidewalk waiting for you. Someone that you’d hoped to see, but knew that he wouldn’t be here. <em>Couldn’t</em> be here. And yet...here he is.</p>
<p>Wyatt.</p>
<p>In the back of your mind, you know that this is going to cause a problem in the future. Willa forbade him from seeing you, he’s breaking the biggest rule in the werewolf handbook just by being here. But for a moment, you can’t bring yourself to care.</p>
<p>You race across the street and fling yourself into his outstretched arms, burying your head in the wolf fur lining the shoulders of his vest. His arms close over you and you wrap yours around him, holding onto him for dear life before the tides of life can inevitably pull him away from you again.</p>
<p>“What are you doing here?” you murmur, but he just makes a shushing noise, enjoying the contact.</p>
<p>You want this moment to last forever. It makes everything you’ve endured today worth it, this one perfect hug. It’s everything you’d thought hugging him would be like; he’s warm, even in the chill of the night, and the feeling of his arms around you makes you feel as if you’re back at home, safe in bed, away from all this craziness.</p>
<p>But of course, forever is far too long. The contact must end, and eventually Wyatt breaks the hug and holds you at arms length so he can stare at you. You must look hideous, covered in brick dust, clothes in shreds, but he looks at you as if you’re the only thing in the world he ever wants to see again.</p>
<p>“When you didn’t show up for school, I came to find you,” he explains, his voice low and husky, like he’s fighting back tears of his own. “I didn’t get to explain last night, when Willa interrupted us. I don’t care what she says; she can’t keep us apart like that, even on an alpha’s orders. I was going to find you at school and tell you as much, but you weren’t there.”</p>
<p>“I couldn’t face it,” you tell him. “I couldn’t face seeing you have to avoid me, or having to stay away from you. It was just...too hard.”</p>
<p>“As soon as school ended, I did my best to get away from the pack and come find you. I knocked on your door, and your parents told me that you were asleep, but I insisted. When they found out you were gone, I ran to Addison’s, and she and Zed helped me get the word out. I’d have done it myself, but cellphones and moonstone necklaces don’t exactly get along.” He fingers at his necklace to illustrate his point, and it glimmers in the moonlight, sitting in the hollow of his throat neatly.</p>
<p>He looks around, catching Zed and Addison’s eye before indicating the last of the Seabrook students disappearing around a corner out of sight. “I thought I might get the cheerleaders and the football team, but I’ve never seen anything like this. Didn’t you tell me that you don’t have any friends?”</p>
<p>“I...I guess I was wrong,” you sigh, still coming to terms with it yourself. “I had no idea this many people cared about me like this.”</p>
<p>“You only have to spend a little while with you to know you’re something special,” he says easily, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. And maybe it is, to him.</p>
<p>“I really like you, you know?” you tell him, trying to impress upon him just how much that means to you to be able to admit it to him, face to face. “I’m sorry that everything’s so complicated. I’m sorry that you’re probably going to get it a ton of trouble for helping me.”</p>
<p>“I’m not,” Wyatt replies. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat. And, for the record, I really like you, too. If that wasn’t obvious from all this.”</p>
<p>“Aww, isn’t this sweet?” says a voice, and your heart fills with dread as you see Willa emerge from the shadows, the entire wolf pack at her back. </p>
<p>She looks pleased with herself, and the smugness in her expression unlocks something within you, some unbridled rage that you’re surprised to find simmering just beneath the surface. But it’s righteous, and it’s necessary, and it gets you all in her face so fast that her immaculately maintained eyebrows fly up into her hairline at record speed.</p>
<p>“How dare you,” you seethe at her. “How dare you be like this. After everything the humans and the zombies did for you guys? They found your Moonstone! They saved you! And you repay them by isolating yourselves, by making it almost impossible to get to know you?”</p>
<p>“Now wait just a second-” Willa tries to begin, clearly unfamiliar with being on the back foot, but you’re not done.</p>
<p>“I’m talking now,” you spit, “so you get to shut up and listen. You’ve yelled in my face more than once, I’d say I’m due.”</p>
<p>There’s a collective inhale of shock from the pack, even from Wyatt behind you, but Willa doesn’t speak, doesn’t even move.</p>
<p>“I get how hard it must be, being all alone for so long and then finding out that there are people that care about you. It must be difficult, trying to adapt to that. God knows I’ve got a lot of it to do myself, after tonight. But one thing I do know is that running away <em>doesn’t help</em>. Locking yourselves in the forest as soon as school ends, keeping us all at arms length? It’s not right, Willa. Humans and zombies have learned to live together – werewolves can to, I just know it.”</p>
<p>You reach back and take Wyatt’s hand, drawing him up next to you. His face is a mask of shock, concern, admiration, and amusement, and you’re not sure which emotion is winning out. Not that it matters right now – you’ve still got things to say.</p>
<p>“What does it say about the way you’re running your pack if <em>your own brother</em> isn’t happy with it? If he’s willing to go against your Alpha decrees or whatever they’re called in order to spend time with a human?</p>
<p>“Do you know how hard I wanted to impress you? Do you even know the reason why Wyatt’s out here in the first place?” you ask, but her face is still impassive, unmoving. “It’s because he was trying to find <em>me</em>. And the reason I was lost was because I was out here like an idiot, digging around in the ruins of the Power Plant trying to find some clue to your Great Alpha mystery. I wanted to impress you so much, because I wanted to get to know Wyatt, to get to know all of you! <em>I could have died</em>, and I knew it, but I was out here anyway because of <em>your brother.</em>”</p>
<p>You’re panting hard, the effort of expelling all of this anger taking a physical toll on you, almost as much as the rest of the evening’s exertions put together. </p>
<p>Willa takes the silence as an opportunity to get a word in edgeways. “Are you done?” she asks, cool as a cucumber, and the fact that she’s not really phased by anything you’ve said gives you the feeling that maybe you’ve misjudged the situation just a tiny bit. </p>
<p>But what’s said is said; there’s no taking it back, not that you would if you could. The words needed to be spoken.</p>
<p>“First off, and this is hard for me, so I’m only going to say it once – I’m sorry.”</p>
<p>Willa lets that sit for a second, and all you can do is blink, unsure of what you’ve heard.</p>
<p>“Being the Alpha’s not easy,” she continues, ignoring your gobsmacked expression. “I have to make decisions that I think will benefit the pack, not just me. And you’re right, it is hard to try and fit in after all our time apart. There’s fitting in with the crowd, and then there’s losing yourself in it, and it’s a fine line. Our werewolf identities are precious to us, and none of us want to lose that.</p>
<p>“It’s no excuse, though; I should try harder. We’re all going to try harder. The humans and the zombies extended the hand of friendship, and we’ve mostly met it with claws out. We won’t do that again, if I can help it.”</p>
<p>The pack gives a small cheer at this, and Willa turns back to them for a moment, giving them a genuine smile.</p>
<p>“And then there’s you,” she says, rounding on you again. You expect her eyes to be narrowed, her expression furious, but it’s more considering, like she’s sizing you up.</p>
<p>“Wyatt’s my brother. I’m always going to be protective. The idea of him and a human together was hard enough back when I thought he wanted to date Addison. She only got a pass because he thought she was the Great Alpha.”</p>
<p>“I don’t want to date Addison, for the record,” Wyatt interjects, and you squeeze his arm reassuringly.</p>
<p>“So when I saw him with another human, I guess my guard went up. I wanted to make it as hard as possible for him, and for you, to see if what you had, what you two might have together, would stand up against it.”</p>
<p>Realisation blossoms behind your eyes like wolfsbane. “This was all <em>a test?</em>”</p>
<p>“I didn’t actually expect you to put yourself in danger, so that one’s on you,” she replies, but there’s a wicked glint in her eye as she smiles and you know then that she’s glad you’re okay. “But yeah. I went after you too hard, and I didn’t mean for it to get this out of hand. When I saw how miserable I’d made Wyatt after last night, I knew I’d pushed it too far. But I wasn’t sure how to walk it back, until now.</p>
<p>“You say you’ve been trying to impress me, but I’m <em>already</em> impressed. You went above and beyond for the wolves, even after we...even after <em>I</em> was so mean to you. You’ve proven yourself a hundred times over. But you never should have had to.”</p>
<p>“I think that’s Willa’s way of saying we can spend time together and she won’t try to eat either of us,” Wyatt translates. </p>
<p>“Shut up, dork,” Willa fires back at him, older sister mode taking over instead of her usual Alpha swagger. “But yeah. Go. Be together. Find out if this is something you both want. You have my blessing, or whatever.”</p>
<p>Then her gaze does narrow, and she gives you a cool glare. “Just know that if you hurt him, I know a hundred places to hide a body in the Forbidden Forest where no one will ever find it.”</p>
<p>You hope she’s joking. You think she is. You give her a tentative smile, which she returns, but hers has far more fangs than you’d like. </p>
<p>Not that it’s a problem. You don’t plan on hurting Wyatt. You could never do that. Not after all this.</p>
<p>“Right, let’s get out of here. It’s late, and we’ve all got school in the morning,” Willa announces to the pack, breaking her eye contact with you and waving an arm through the night, indicating that it’s time to go. The pack surges forward, following her back towards the forest.</p>
<p>“I’ll catch up,” Wyatt tells her, and she reluctantly nods. This is going to take her a moment to get used to, as well.</p>
<p>The wolves disappear soundlessly, as they do, and finally it’s just you and Wyatt left. You cast a glance back over the street, but Zed and Addison have also gone – once Willa backed down, they must have known you’d be okay on your own. You’ll find them at school tomorrow and thank them properly for tonight.</p>
<p>“And then there were two,” Wyatt says, pulling your attention back to him. He reaches out and takes your hand, drawing you close.</p>
<p>“The only two that really matter,” you whisper back, allowing him to pull you towards him.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry,” he says, and it comes out kind of sad. “Willa’s...something else. But she’s trying. She’ll get better at this.”</p>
<p>“It’s a learning curve for all of us. I’ve never done anything like this before either,” you admit. “But I’m glad I’m doing it now. I’m glad I get to do it with you.”</p>
<p>You both smile in unison, and you’re both quiet for a beat. “I’m sorry I didn’t find anything in there; all this was for nothing. I didn’t find any clues about the Great Alpha at all.”</p>
<p>Wyatt frowns, but it’s more in bemusement than anything else. “No mystery is worth losing you over. I’m happy for this one to go unsolved as long as it means you’re okay. Promise me that you won’t ever scare me like that again? I may be a wolf, but I can still have a heart attack.”</p>
<p>“Even if I did get into trouble, I wouldn’t be scared, because I know I’d have you looking out for me.”</p>
<p>He wants to say something clever to that, but the sincerity in your voice stops him in his tracks. </p>
<p>You’re not sure where your boldness comes from. Maybe nearly dying, uniting the entire school, and standing up to Willa is making you feel undefeatable. Whatever the reason, you’re glad the feeling’s here, because you’re not sure if you’d have ever built up the courage for this next move without it.</p>
<p>“I’m going to kiss you now,” you tell Wyatt quickly before he can speak again. His eyebrows rocket upwards, but he doesn’t stop you, doesn’t pull away, so you close the gap between you and find his lips with yours.</p>
<p>They’re surprisingly soft as he carefully moves his fangs around to accommodate your presence. Your hand finds its way into his hair, brushing the tip of his pointed ear as it does so, and you feel his mouth curl into a smile against yours.</p>
<p>Wyatt pulls you tighter against him, supernatural strength keeping you close and his body heat burning off him in pulses as his blood trills. There’s an animalistic edge to the way he holds you, just a hair’s breadth away from too tight, and a soft growl escapes from his lips as you break apart. </p>
<p>He’s so strange, so alien, and yet nothing has ever felt as perfect as this.</p>
<p>“Wow,” is all you can manage. If Wyatt could grin any harder, his face would crack in half.</p>
<p>“I’ve wanted to do that since the first time I saw you,” he admits. “It was worth the wait.”</p>
<p>“Let’s do it again, just to make sure it was everything you wanted it to be?” you suggest. Wyatt doesn’t need asking twice.</p>
<p>It’s freezing out here. The Power Plant has this horrible smell of burnt rubber that you hadn’t noticed before. And you have two angry parents waiting at home.</p>
<p>But somehow, with the moon overhead, and a werewolf in your arms, there’s no place you’d rather be.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Ready For A New Day, Ready For A Change</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Somehow, you managed to escape being grounded. After you told your parents the story, they were just so happy that you were okay that they decided to skip the punishment and leave you with a stern “If you ever do something like that again…” and let you fill in the blanks, which is so far away from what you thought was going to happen that you’re not questioning it, in case they change their minds.</p>
<p>You get the feeling that leaving out the fact that one of the main reasons you were in the Power Plant at all was because of <i>a boy </i>might have saved you from a harsher punishment.</p>
<p>You get to school early, for the first time not really sure what to expect. You’ve walked these halls so many times, seen these people for years, but now you have a newfound appreciation for them all, for what they did, for how they think of you.</p>
<p>You pause on the threshold of Seabrook High, suddenly terrified of walking inside. You’re not sure how long you stand there, debating what will happen when you go in, whether you should turn around and go back home again.</p>
<p>You’re still in the same spot when Wyatt arrives. He steps up beside you like you’re waiting for the same train, arms crossed, whistling slightly which sounds funny through his fangs. </p>
<p>“You know these aren’t automatic doors, right?” he quips. “They’ll only open if you push them.”</p>
<p>“I’m thinking about it.”</p>
<p>“Would it help if we went in together?”</p>
<p>He gets it. He, of everyone, knows how much has changed for you since last night. The way you view the world has shifted, and for the first time you’re able to see how everyone else views you. And that’s scary. </p>
<p>But he gets it.</p>
<p>He takes your hand, waffling his fingers between yours, and pushes the door open. He takes a step into the school, and gently pulls you with him. </p>
<p>You don’t resist.</p>
<p>At first, nothing happens. The halls are packed with students getting ready for first period, trying to remember where they left textbooks, checking their lockers for missing pencils and hopefully-complete homework. No one pays you much attention.</p>
<p>Then, like a slowly falling leaf, silence descends over the halls as someone notices you, tapping a friend and alerting them to your presence, and so it goes until the whole school knows you’re there.</p>
<p>Wyatt squeezes your hand, and you start to walk. Why is your locker on the other side of the school? Why do you need to go past everyone to get to it? Whose clever idea was that?</p>
<p>As you pass people, they shoot you smiles. Some of them say good morning. Some of them slap you on the shoulder in camaraderie. </p>
<p>It’s exactly the same as every other morning you’ve spent at Seabrook High over the past few years. But now, you know what it really means.</p>
<p>Where you’d taken it for nonchalance, for people just being people, you realise what it actually is – people caring about you. People knowing who you are. People being glad to see you when you walk through the halls.</p>
<p>You’ve got more friends than you ever thought possible. All you had to do was open your eyes to see them.</p>
<p>Zed and Addison cheer as you pass them by. They’re holding hands, just like you and Wyatt – Zed holds them up and points, mouthing “Someday!” at you.</p>
<p>You hadn’t understood him before, but his meaning is clear now. Someday isn’t something you wait for, it’s something you make happen for yourself.</p>
<p>You gaze over at Wyatt, who smiles his wolfish smile and winks at you.</p>
<p>Nothing will ever be the same again; not now that you’ve crawled out of your own head and taken notice of everything that’s going on around you. It’s easy to think that the story of the world is someone else’s, that you’re just a supporting character in someone else’s movie, but that’s not the case – you’re the star of your own show, and the spotlight is on you as long as you acknowledge that it’s there.</p>
<p>And now you get to share that spotlight. Who knows what the future will bring for you and Wyatt, what your relationship may become in the future? But for the first time, you’re not afraid of that future. You won’t be facing it alone; you have him, and the wolves, and the zombies and the humans and everyone else at your back.</p>
<p>Wyatt nudges you with a shoulder and draws your attention once again, snapping you out of your self-reflection for a second.</p>
<p>“You okay? You seem a little out of it.”</p>
<p>“No, I’m...I’m good,” you realise. “If you’d asked me that a few weeks ago, I’d have been lying. But I really am good. I can see things clearly now – I know who my friends are.”</p>
<p>“I hope that includes me,” he says, pretending to be wounded. </p>
<p>“Your sister was right, you <i>are </i>a dork.”</p>
<p>“Hurtful. Very hurtful,” he says, hanging his head in shame.</p>
<p>“But accurate. And I like you anyway.”</p>
<p>He perks back up like a hound recovering from a scolding, and winks at you once again.</p>
<p>“But really,” you finish, smiling with your entire soul, “I think I’m good. As long as I have you, and everyone else…I got this.”</p>
<p>You’ve somehow made it through the throngs of people to your locker, and suddenly it’s just another normal school day. You can still feel the presence of everyone around you, how everyone has one eye on you just to make sure you’re still okay, but it’s surprising how quickly that begins to feel normal; like it’s been there this whole time, and you’ve just never noticed it. Which may be closer to the truth than you’d care to admit.</p>
<p>The metal lock pops under your hand as you enter your combination, and the door swings open. Wyatt leans against the locker next to yours easily, still talking even though his face is blocked by the open door.</p>
<p>“I’m glad to hear it. Because there’s something else we need to do.”</p>
<p>“Oh really?” You shuffle through your locker, trying to find the right textbooks for your next few periods. You really need to clean this thing out one day – it’s nearly impossible to find anything in here.</p>
<p>“Yeah. We’ve- Well, you’ve I guess- been invited to the Den tonight. Willa wants to see you.”</p>
<p>You feel your eyes grow wide with worry, and it feels like someone’s dropped a bucket of ice water over your head. What could she want so soon? Surely you haven’t done anything to offend her since last night? You’ve not even seen her!</p>
<p>As if sensing your unease, Wyatt shuts your locker door and stares at you sympathetically. “It’s nothing to worry about, I promise. It’s just a...formality.”</p>
<p>Somehow, that doesn’t make you feel any better. “What is? Can’t you just tell me what’s going on?”</p>
<p>Now Wyatt looks mischievous, one fang poking out over his lower lip as he smirks at you. “Nope. It’s a surprise. But it’s a good one, I promise. Just...come to the Den tonight an hour after school. It’ll be fine, I swear.” He glances up at a clock on a nearby wall, and then his face drops. “Damn it, I’m late for class. I’ll see you tonight!”</p>
<p>You do your best not to let his words bother you as he sprints away, sliding comically around a corner and out of sight. He wouldn’t spring something awful on you, you know that; and he knows his sister – if she was planning something terrible, he’d be able to tell...right?</p>
<p>It’s not easy to put this new development to the back of your mind, but you’ve lost enough school time to worrying lately so you work hard to focus, to lose yourself in learning for a few hours.</p>
<p>You sit alone at lunch once again; you’d thought Wyatt might join you, but he and the rest of the wolves are all mysteriously absent. For the first time however, you really pay attention when people walk past – they wave, or smile, or ask you how you’re doing. It’s the same as every other day, but once again the true meaning behind it all shines through, and you realise that you’re never as alone as you think you are.</p>
<p>It’s only after school that the anxiety returns with a vengeance. You spend a fraught hour in the library trying to catch up on homework, each minute feeling longer than the last, before finally speeding out of the building, never noticing that the library, and the rest of the school, has been empty this entire time.</p>
<p>You walk through town towards the Forbidden Forest, worst-case scenarios running through your head despite Wyatt’s reassurances that you have nothing to worry about. With doom and gloom taking up residence in your mind the walk seem to take even longer than usual, but you resist the urge to burst into a jog. You don’t want the wolves you know you’ve been worrying when you finally arrive.</p>
<p>The Den is oddly silent when you get there. There’s no light, no sound spilling out of it for the first time. Even when it was only Wyatt within, the place felt warm and alive. Today, it feels exactly the way it looks – like a cold, lifeless pile of stone – and your unease only increases.</p>
<p>“Hello?” you call, cautiously making your way down the staircase into the main hall. “Wyatt? Willa? Anyone?”</p>
<p>It’s pitch black inside; none of the fires are lit, and the stars that usually shine down through the hole in the roof are mysteriously absent. You wave your hand in front of your face, but you can’t even see that.</p>
<p>“Hello?” you call again, not surprised but a little disappointed to hear the fear rising in your voice. “Wyatt? You said I didn’t have anything to worry about, but I’m getting <i>very worried </i>right now.”</p>
<p>Your voice echoes around the cavern, coming back to you in quieter and quieter tones. <i>“Worried right now...worried right now...right now….right...”</i></p>
<p>You stand for a second, entirely alone, completely confused.</p>
<p>Then all at once flames burst into being beneath the floors and an enormous black tarpaulin falls away from the ceiling to reveal the stars suspended a million miles above you like flies in a spider’s web.</p>
<p>The room is packed with people; werewolves, zombies, humans, all interspersed together into one massive crowd. At the top of the stairs, presiding over the assembled masses, are Willa, Wyatt, Zed, and Addison. </p>
<p>You see all of this in the blink of an eye, your sight overwhelmed by the shock of it all. And then, as one, everyone in the room yells <i>“Surprise!”</i></p>
<p>You blink once, twice, and then your mouth falls open of its own accord as the room erupts into applause.</p>
<p>You don’t even know where to look. Somehow, this crowd feels even bigger than the one from last night, as if the population of Seabrook High has doubled in less than a day. Or maybe it’s just twice as overwhelming to see this many people in one place to see <i>you </i>in such a short space of time.</p>
<p>Desperately, you look up at Wyatt for an explanation. He motions with his hand, a wide grin on his face as he beckons you forward. You step through the crowd, which parts without resistance to allow you through, and you climb the stairs to join him at the top.</p>
<p><i>“What is going on?” </i>you hiss at him, and his smile somehow grows even wider.</p>
<p>“I think I can explain,” Willa says, sidling up to you both and taking your hand. You’re so surprised by the gesture that you’re not even able to protest as she draws you to the head of the platform, so that you’re looking out at the crowd below you.</p>
<p>The sheer amount of eyes on you makes you feel a little sick; there’s no adrenaline to cover your anxiety like last night, and bile is rising in your throat. You’re going to either run away, throw up, or both in an undetermined order.</p>
<p>Then you feel another hand in yours as Wyatt slides up to you, and all at once you feel calmer. You’re still not back to normal, but you feel instantly better than you did. He doesn’t speak, still grinning like a madman, but it’s enough to quiet your raging insides.</p>
<p>Also quieted is the applause and the cheering from the crowd. Willa waits expectantly, like a teacher at the front of an unruly classroom, then she looks to Zed and Addison, and to you and Wyatt, before smiling and beginning to speak.</p>
<p>“Welcome. I know for most of you it’s been a long time since you were here last. Prawn feels like forever ago, and the lessons we all learned seem like a distant memory. But we can’t afford to forget those lessons, and that is what brings you all here today.”</p>
<p>She turns to Zed and Addison, who also have their hands together, an easy and well-practised position at this point. “It was this heroic zombie and this courageous human that reminded us that werewolves aren’t solitary animals. There’s a reason we live in a pack. But once Prawn was over, it was easy for us to recede back into the shadows, back to the family we already knew and trusted. Too easy. And that was my fault.”</p>
<p>Willa’s hand grips yours tighter; admitting this to so many people at once isn’t fun for her. For someone in a position of power, admitting that you were wrong must be one of the most difficult things to do. As terrified of her as you are, you’re thawing very quickly the more you learn about her.</p>
<p>“I’ve said this before, and I’ll probably say it again – but we need to do better. All of us, me included. And that’s why we’re here. To officially open the Den’s doors to all of you, whenever you want. Human, zombie, werewolf…all are welcome in the Seabrook Pack.”</p>
<p>She pauses, thinking for a moment, then raises a finger to correct herself. “As long as there’s at least one werewolf here. No humans or zombies on their own. You wouldn’t want someone in your house when you’re not there, so I feel like that’s fair, right?”</p>
<p>To your surprise, she looks to you for validation. You sputter ineloquently, not prepared to be addressed, let alone expected to give advice. But you manage to nod and mutter: “Yeah, that...that seems fair.”</p>
<p>Willa nods, satisfied, and looks back to the crowd. “How does that sound to everyone?”</p>
<p>A murmur goes out across the crowd as they take in this new information. You feel Willa tense under your hand, but the indecision only lasts for a moment before the cheer overtakes the crowd again, even louder than when you arrived.</p>
<p>“I’ll take that as a yes,” Willa says, with a grin more than a little similar to her brother’s.</p>
<p>“That’s not the only reason I called you all here though. I have someone to introduce to you all.”</p>
<p>She pulls you forward so that you’re standing next to her, and Wyatt follows along as well. You sneak a look over at him as his grin is like a gleeful crescent moon slashed across his face.</p>
<p>“Most of you know my brother, Wyatt.” He raises his free hand in acknowledgement.</p>
<p>“And I know you all know the other guest on our stage tonight.” Before you can resist, she raises the hand that’s holding yours, making you wave at the crowd.</p>
<p>“And you definitely know Zed and Addison.” They also step forward, although it’s demure and unassuming; this isn’t their time for the spotlight.</p>
<p>“Well, when Addison and Zed got together, they changed Seabrook for the better. Addison’s like an...unofficial liaison between the humans and the zombies. If any of you have problems, you go to her, right?”</p>
<p>Another cheer from the crowd. Addison beams happily at them, and Zed beams at her. Not for the first time, you’re in awe of how much they love each other.</p>
<p>“It seems to me that <i>we </i>need someone like that. Someone who straddles the line between the werewolves and the humans, to make it a little easier to communicate between us. And who better than someone who managed to capture the heart of my own brother? Who risked everything to help us, even after I’d done everything I could to drive them away?”</p>
<p>Your face blazes red, unused to the compliments, and especially unused to them from Willa. You know what she’s going to say a millisecond before she says it, but it still takes you by surprise. She calls your name, announcing you as the human/werewolf liaison, and the crowd goes wild yet again.</p>
<p>“I don’t- I’m not- <i>Are you sure?</i>” you ask her, eyes boggling, but she’s nodding before you even begin to speak.</p>
<p>“I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life. There’s no one I’d trust to do this more than you.”</p>
<p>“I...” </p>
<p>Doubts swirl within you like a black tornado, tearing at your already low self-esteem bit by bit, threatening to pull you apart from inside. But then you look past Willa, to Zed and Addison, both looking at you encouragingly. Then Wyatt squeezes your hand, and his expression mirrors theirs.</p>
<p>And the crowd is already roaring in approval. All of these people want this. All of these people, humans, zombies, werewolves, think you can do this.</p>
<p>If they can believe in you, then who are you to argue with them all?</p>
<p>So you take a deep breath and silence the tornado of doubt, forcing it down, down within you, smothering it with the cries of everyone around you, with the smiles of your friends, and stand as tall as you can. The crowd falls silent, waiting for you to speak.</p>
<p>“I’m honoured, I really am. I never expected...anything like this. But I’ll do it – I accept. I can’t promise I’ll be good at it to start with; like Willa and the wolves, I’m much better at keeping to myself than anything else. But if you’ll trust me, and help me, I promise to do the best I can to integrate all of Seabrook’s groups together even more than they already are.”</p>
<p>Willa steps up again as you finish, before the crowd can cheer again. “And with all the boring stuff out of the way, let’s get this party started!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. When Worlds Collide</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Willa snaps her fingers and some unseen sound system bursts into life, the walls of the Den vibrating in a manner now very familiar to you. An enormous table of food is wheeled out from one of the innermost rooms, and one of the wolves springboards off of a zombie’s shoulders to hang an honest-to-god disco ball from the ceiling. </p>
<p>It’s almost like you’re back at Prawn...at least before all the earthquakes and such ruined it. One glance at Wyatt tells you that the feeling is intentional – he knows that Prawn was a bit of a non-starter for you, so this is your second chance. Knowing that he remembered that, that he listens so intently to the things that you say to him, even the little throwaway things, makes your heart feel tight.</p>
<p>The next few hours are a whirlwind of dancing, singing, and celebration that blend into one long, perfect memory. </p>
<p>Punch flows freely, and it turns out that werewolves are fantastic at preparing chicken strips. Who’d have thought? It seems like the only thing that’s going to be left by the end of the night is the cauliflower brains flavoured pizza, and that’s mostly because Bree is constantly trying to stop Bonzo from eating it all in case he falls into a food coma.</p>
<p>There’s a dance-off between the zombies and the werewolves which will go down in Seabrook history. Some of their dance moves have never been seen before, and never will be again, for better or worse.</p>
<p>At one point you end up riding on Zed’s shoulders, towering over everyone and laughing as they throw confetti that they found from...somewhere over you both; you’ll be clearing it out of your hair for weeks, but it’s worth it for the sheer joy it inspires within you.</p>
<p>Eliza and the other zombies organize a game of musical statues for you to judge, which lasts well over an hour because they’re all so good at standing stock-still.</p>
<p>Even Bucky and the Aceys show up, fashionably late, to tear up the dancefloor and generally try to draw attention to themselves, but Willa soon sends them running to the corners of the Den with a well-timed howl, where they spend the rest of the night gossiping and not-so-silently judging the rest of you.</p>
<p>For most of the evening, you and Wyatt are separated. You see each other across the room, swapping smiles and cheers, and you do manage to share at least one dance in the centre of the dancefloor while the wolves all howl their approval. </p>
<p>You never get the chance to really speak to him until near the end of the night though, when he appears from nowhere, soundless as ever, and grabs your hand to draw you away from the crowd into the bowels of the Den.</p>
<p>You’ve never been this far in; the corridors twist and turn back on themselves, so it’s hard to orient yourself, but you feel like you must be about a mile underground, if not more. The walls are lined with lanterns that burst into life as you walk past them, and the sound of the party grows more and more indistinct as you leave it behind, although it never entirely fades.</p>
<p>“Where are we going?” you ask as Wyatt pulls you onwards.</p>
<p>“There’s something I want us to do. You’ll see when we get there,” he promises.</p>
<p>Finally, you turn a corner and emerge into a fairly small, circular room. It’s almost entirely occupied by an enormous purple rock in the centre, placed on a plinth; the rock’s surface is craggy, but there is a shape to it, like a diamond before it’s been properly cut. As you realise what this must be, you gasp and cover your mouth.</p>
<p>“Oh wow. Am I allowed in here? I feel like I’ve walked into a church or something.”</p>
<p>Wyatt chuckles and shakes his head. “It’s fine. As long as you promise not to steal it, we’re good.”</p>
<p>“I don’t think I could carry it even if I wanted to,” you say seriously, and he rolls his eyes. Still holding your hand, he draws you in front of the Moonstone like it’s presiding over your wedding. A lump begins to form in your throat, and you’re not entirely sure why.<br/>“This is an old, old wolf ceremony. I’ve only ever read about it – we’ve never had the Moonstone to do it ourselves until now. I never thought I’d get to do it at all, but….” He trails off, his request for consent unspoken.</p>
<p>“I’m going to need a bit more information,” you say sceptically, but your curiosity is definitely piqued. </p>
<p>He begins to explain, turning towards you and taking your other hand as well. “When wolves choose a mate-”</p>
<p>“-Hey, slow down!” you immediately interrupt, suddenly panicked, but Wyatt only smirks as you blush.</p>
<p>“-I knew you’d say that. I didn’t mean...not that kind of mate. It’s just wolf-speak for boyfriend, girlfriend. Like, a partner.”</p>
<p>You relax a little, although the gravity of the situation still weighs heavy on you. “...Okay, go on.”</p>
<p>“When wolves choose a mate, we present ourselves in front of the Moonstone and show it who we’ve chosen. Then if it approves, it glows.”</p>
<p>“And if it doesn’t?” The doubts that had been laying dormant in your stomach rouse from their slumber, ready to flood your system once more. What if it doesn’t glow? What if it doesn’t approve? The Moonstone is the centre of the werewolves’ lives – it’s what <i>keeps them alive.</i> If you’re not good enough for it, then you’re not good enough for them, and what reason would Wyatt have to still want to be with you?</p>
<p>Wyatt’s expression is so certain though, so sure; it’s obvious that there’s no doubt in his mind. He just shrugs his shoulders. “If it doesn’t, then who cares? It’s a rock. What does it know, really? We’ve been choosing mates for centuries without it; I just thought it’d be nice to do this the proper werewolf way for a change.”</p>
<p>You think it through for a little longer. This clearly means something to Wyatt, no matter what he says otherwise. And despite his nonchalance, you know he really cares about the Moonstone and his werewolf heritage. So there’s really only one answer you can give. </p>
<p>You steel yourself before you speak. “Okay, let’s do this…What do we do?”</p>
<p>Wyatt releases one of your hands and places his on the Moonstone, palm down. He nods at you, and you mirror him.</p>
<p>The stone is cold under your touch, but it feels...alive. There’s a pulse, like a thrum of magic just beneath the surface, an...intelligence. It reminds you of Wyatt’s necklace, for obvious reasons.</p>
<p>“Oh great Moonstone,” Wyatt says, intoning the words heavily. “For many years, you have been absent from our pack. But now you are returned, and for that we are grateful.”</p>
<p>The Moonstone hums slightly in acknowledgement, the light within it growing as if to say <i>“I’m listening...”</i>.</p>
<p>“I am Wyatt Lykensen, second-in-command of the Seabrook Pack. And I present my chosen. They are brave of heart, strong of will, and the one I care for most of all.”</p>
<p>He nods at you, and you clear your throat as you search for words even half as eloquent as Wyatt’s.</p>
<p>You give the Moonstone your name, and then fumble as you realise that you have a title of your own that you can also give. “I’m the human/werewolf liaison for the Seabrook Pack.” You feel yourself swell with pride at being able to say that; you’re not sure you’ll ever get used to it. </p>
<p>“And I present my chosen. He is quick of wit, pure of spirit, and the one I care for most of all.”</p>
<p>“That was perfect,” Wyatt whispers, before addressing the Moonstone again. “We have chosen each other as mates-” Wyatt plows ahead as he sees you wince again, “-joined in heart and purpose. We vow to be true to one another, always. And to do our best to honour each other, and the pack that we represent. Do you bless our decision?”</p>
<p>You hold your breath, gripping Wyatt’s hand even tighter than before; you see him doing the same, his chest hitching as you both anxiously wait for the Moonstone’s decision.</p>
<p>Five seconds pass, then ten...you can see Wyatt’s cheekbones flaring against his skin as he grits his teeth in anticipation. Fifteen seconds…</p>
<p>You’re not sure how long this is meant to take. How long does a stone need to consider? How are you meant to know when it’s done? It’s not like it can nod its head or something. </p>
<p>Twenty seconds...</p>
<p>You’re about to say something, to break the spell of silence between you and Wyatt when, at last, the Moonstone’s light flares bright, brighter than anything you’ve ever seen. You take your hand from it to cover your eyes, keeping hold of Wyatt with the other. It sears through your eyelids, making colours dance across your field of vision, and then just as soon as it came the light is gone.</p>
<p>You blink, trying to re-acclimate yourself to the relative gloom of the cavern. The Moonstone looks as it did before, just a dim glow somewhere towards its centre.</p>
<p>“Guess we got our answer,” you say, turning to Wyatt, who is rubbing the bridge of his nose with one hand, eyes closed. He nods, blinking in quick succession, and when he speaks, his tone is surprised despite his previous certainty. </p>
<p>“The Moonstone approves.” He stops for a beat, meeting your eyes. “The Moonstone approves!” he repeats, joy overtaking the surprise this time, and he actually does a little dance in celebration.</p>
<p>He turns towards the Moonstone, looking like he’s going to give it a hug. If he does, you resolve to go back to the party so they can have the room. There’s a line, and hugging a rock is definitely crossing it.</p>
<p>As you watch though, his eyebrows shoot upwards with surprise again and he points at the top of the Moonstone.</p>
<p>You follow his finger, staring at the glowing surface of the Moonstone. In the dead centre of the uppermost facet, one of its only completely flat planes, is a small chunk of crystal with a piece of brown leather threaded around it. You’ve seen it, or something very much like it, before – every time you look at Wyatt you see it, hanging around his neck, settling in the small of his throat. </p>
<p>It’s a moonstone necklace.</p>
<p>“Is that...for me?” you ask, not sure if you dare to wonder something so presumptuous.</p>
<p>“I think...I think it is.” Wyatt picks it up between his claws, turning it over and examining it.</p>
<p>“Only one other human has a moonstone necklace,” he says. “I didn’t even know the Moonstone could give them out to non-werewolves.”</p>
<p>You’re not sure what to say. The honour is clear, but you don’t have the words to articulate what it means to you. </p>
<p>Wordlessly, Wyatt reaches behind you and fastens the cord around your neck. The stone hangs in exactly the same place as his, in the centre of your throat; the weight is unfamiliar at first, but after just a few seconds it feels...right. Like it is exactly where it should be.</p>
<p>“I don’t think I’ve said this yet,” you begin, one hand twirling through the leather cord of the necklace, “but thank you for this. The party, the position, everything. It’s...I never dreamed that my life would turn out like this.”</p>
<p>“I can’t take all the credit,” Wyatt says with a shrug. “I came up with the party idea. Everything else was Willa. You really did a number on her, you know?”</p>
<p>You digest that for a moment, once again surprised at how much you’re starting to like Wyatt’s sister. “She’s...not what I thought she was.”</p>
<p>“I told you, she just takes a little while to warm up. She does like you after all.”</p>
<p>“As long as you like me the most,” you joke, and he nods enthusiastically.</p>
<p>His smirk turns sly. “Shall we go back to the party? I wanna see how high I can make Bucky scream when I scare him.”</p>
<p>“Tempting,” you say, tapping your chin in faux-thought. “Just one thing first.”</p>
<p>You lean over to him and place both hands on his cheeks, guiding his lips to yours. You feel his eyes flutter closed, his eyelashes brushing against your face as you kiss. </p>
<p>You lean your forehead against Wyatt’s, his brown eyes locked onto yours like twin lighthouses in a storm. He’s unbelievable, this perfect blend of wolf and man, and he’s yours. Not for the first time, you realise just how lucky you are.</p>
<p>“Now we can go back to the party,” you whisper, but neither of you move for a good few minutes. You’ve embraced each other at some point while you were kissing, your hands intertwined in the small of his back while his are draped over your shoulders like a slow dance.</p>
<p>As you stand there, gently swaying to the distant sounds of the party, Wyatt’s lips part once again and a haunting howl whistles from his throat. It’s oddly musical and, despite its strangeness, it’s one of the most beautiful sounds you’ve ever heard.</p>
<p>“Are you singing to me now?”</p>
<p>Wyatt laughs at that, low in his throat. “If I’m singing, you’ll know it. It was wolf-speak. I’ve never said it before.”</p>
<p>“It was pretty. Like a song I feel like I’ve heard before,” you reply dreamily into his shoulder. “What does it mean?”</p>
<p>“It means...<i>I love you.</i>”</p>
<p>You both stop swaying, and you extend your arms so that you can look at Wyatt properly, but without letting him go. Your voice is quiet when next you speak, careful not to shatter this fragile moment into pieces. “Do you really mean that?”</p>
<p>In contrast, Wyatt’s voice is strong, and he speaks without hesitation. “Yeah, I do. I love you. I wouldn’t have brought you down here if I didn’t. I know it’s soon, and I know it’s out of the blue, but after everything...I don’t think I’ve ever felt so certain about something in my whole life.”</p>
<p>Of all the insane things that have happened to you over the last few weeks, from meeting werewolves to getting trapped in a demolished power plant to a human/zombie/werewolf mixer in your honour, this is the most surprising. </p>
<p>The very idea that this boy, this perfect, <i>perfect</i> boy would say something like this to you, is just…</p>
<p>No. Overthinking is your problem. Overthinking is what made you miss all the friends you’ve made. Made you think that you were alone, when nothing could be further from the truth. Made you doubt yourself, and your feelings, and your convictions. Now is not the time for overthinking. Now is the time to put your brain in neutral, and let your heart take the wheel. And there’s only one thing that it wants to say.</p>
<p>“It sounds better in wolf-speak, but...I love you, too.”</p>
<p>And then neither of you are saying anything because you’re kissing again, like a bow on the present of this gift you’ve given each other.</p>
<p>There’s an almost undetectable shift between you, like a threshold has been crossed, like a key has been turned, and your relationship has evolved into something more than it was before. Something new, and exciting, and all yours.</p>
<p>Wyatt takes your hand yet again, and you walk together in silence back to the party, merely enjoying each other’s company. You both have big, goofy grins on your faces, and whenever you look over at each other they just seem to grow even wider.</p>
<p>As you emerge from the tunnel a few minutes later, the party is still in full swing. Bucky and the Aceys are unsuccessfully attempting to choreograph a werewolf cheer squad in one corner of the room. Zombies are giving limbo lessons to some eager looking humans. Willa, Bree, and Eliza are in deep conversation over by the punch table – that’s a combination that’s going to tear up Seabrook High if you’ve ever seen one.</p>
<p>And Zed and Addison are in the shadows beneath one of the rock columns, arms around each other, heads close. It’s like looking at you and Wyatt from the outside, if he was a foot taller, and you were a cheerleader (among other things).<br/>Seabrook High is still circles. Humans, zombies, werewolves...there will always be some walls that you won’t be able to break down, that’s just fundamentally true. </p>
<p>But the circles are closer together than ever before, almost entirely overlapping. It’s wonderful to behold, seeing all these different people from all different walks of life coming together to share what makes them different and what makes them the same. And the promise to continue doing that in the future, rather than retreating back into their own corners, hangs over everything like that Christmas Eve feeling where you know that, while today is special, tomorrow will be even more so. This isn’t just a one-time thing – this is the first in what you hope will be many, many times like this.</p>
<p>You’re still not pigeonholed in one circle; for all that you’ve learned, about Seabrook and about yourself, you know that you’ll never be entirely in one group or another.</p>
<p>And you’re okay with that.</p>
<p>You, like Addison, like Zed, like Wyatt, like Willa, are one of the intersection points. One of the points where the groups converge to become something greater than they are separately. You don’t just belong to one group or another – you’re part of them all, in some way, shape, or form.</p>
<p>Self-discovery is an ongoing thing; you don’t just figure yourself out and then stay stagnant for the rest of your life. People change, people grow, people become something new every single day. But now you know where you begin, where you want to be, and where your road is going to take you next.</p>
<p>And now you know that you don’t have to walk that road alone. Your friends will be with you every step of the way; Zed and Addison, Willa, and every wolf, human, and zombie at Seabrook High have your back. And you have theirs, like one big intertwined safety net, stronger together than you could ever be apart.</p>
<p>Of course, Wyatt will be right beside you as well. And he’s more than a friend. He’s someone who will love you, and be loved by you in return, who will prop you up, keep you grounded, and always be there to help you when you need it, because he knows you’ll do the same for him.</p>
<p>It may have taken a while. It may have taken nearly getting crushed to death under a building, and almost eaten by your boyfriend’s sister, and a hell of a lot of soul-searching, but finally, <i>finally</i>, you know where, and with who, you belong.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm never sure how to end these things, whether I'm supposed to like sign off or something? But thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed the story! Fingers crossed for Zombies 3, and maybe I'll write a sequel after that!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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